Global Framework Agreement Meaning

Global framework agreements are negotiated globally between trade unions and a multinational. They apply the best standards for trade union rights, health, safety and environmental practices and the quality of working principles in all of a company`s overall business activities, whether or not these standards exist in a single country. ILO Online: How far do these agreements go? Can they set wages and working conditions anywhere in the world? Dominique Michel: Fifty companies operating in different sectors have signed international framework agreements with five global trade union organisations. The first was signed in 1988 by the French food multinational Danone, the first in 1995 by the hotel chain ACCOR. It was not until 2000 that the number of agreements signed each year accelerated to 50 by the end of 2006. Among them is the Swedish furniture company IKEA; the American banana company Chiquita; German pencil manufacturers Faber-Castell and Staedler; oil companies in Norway (Statoil), Italy (ENI) and Russia (Lukoil); car manufacturers in Germany and France, such as Volkswagen, Daimler-Chrysler, Renault and Peugeot-Citroen; Spanish and French electricity producers Endesa and EDF; Telecommunications companies in Spain (Telefonica) and Greece (OTE) and retailers in France (Carrefour) and Sweden (H-M). Dominique Michel: Most framework agreements include monitoring mechanisms involving the participation of trade unions. These mechanisms include specific actions by management and workers` representatives, such as the dissemination (and, if necessary, translation) of the enterprise-wide agreement, or the development of joint training programmes. Some agreements provide for joint missions by the relevant national union and the World Trade Union Association to monitor the implementation of the agreement on the ground. Most of them also have mechanisms for the World Confederation of Trade Unions to deal with a case if the company violates the terms of the agreement.

The ILO notes that the number of IFAs signed from year to year between 2000 and 2016 has increased and that 115 agreements were concluded in 2016. The European Commission has set up a database of transnational enterprise agreements, with IFA and EDF indicating that 10 additional IFAs have been concluded in 2017 and 8 in 2018. The IFA generally focuses on the metallurgical, construction, chemical, food and service sectors, and it is generally accepted that such negotiations are initiated by trade unions. IndustriALL has also entered into global agreements with multinationals that cover specific key issues in all sectors of these companies. These include our global health and safety agreement with ArcelorMittal and our global sexual harassment agreement with Unilever.