Chapter 9
International Industrial
Relations and the Host
Country Context
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
1
Chapter Objectives
 Discuss key issues in industrial relations, and the policies and
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practices of MNEs.
Examine the potential constraints that trade unions may have on
multinationals.
Outline key concerns of trade unions regarding activities of
MNEs
Discuss recent trends and issues in the global workforce context.
Discuss the formation of regional economic zones such as the
European Union, and impact of opponents to globalization.
Present issues of codes of conduct and NGOs as MNEs
Discuss HR implications of off-shoring
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Introduction
 Cross-cultural difference in industrial relations (IR)
and collective bargaining
The concept
Level of negotiations/collective bargaining
Objectives
Ideology
Union structures
Rules and regulations
 Cross-cultural differences also emerge as to the
enforceability of collective agreements.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Factors underlying Historical Differences
in Structures of Trade Unions
 Mode of technology and industrial organization at
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critical stages of union development
Methods of union regulation by government
Ideological divisions within the trade union movement
Influence of religious organizations on trade union
development
Managerial strategies for labor relations in large
corporations.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
4
Union Structures
 Differ considerably among countries
 IR policies must be flexible enough in order to adapt
to local traditions and institutional requirements.
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Industrial unions – Represent all grades of employees in an
industry
Craft unions – Based on skilled occupational groupings across
industries
Conglomerate unions – Represent members in more than one
industry
General unions – Open to almost all employees in a given country
Enterprise union - a single trade union within one plant or multiplant enterprise, rather than within a craft or industry, common in
Asia-Pacific countries
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
5
Table
9.1
Trade Union Structures in Leading
Western Industrial Societies
Australia
General, craft, industrial, white-collar
Belgium
Industrial, professional, religious, public sector
Canada
Industrial, craft, conglomerate
Denmark
General, craft, white-collar
Finland
General, white-collar, professional and technical enterprise
Great Britain
General, craft, industrial, white-collar, public sector
Japan
Enterprise
The Netherlands
Religious, conglomerate, white-collar
Norway
Industrial, craft
Sweden
Industrial, craft, white-collar and professional
Switzerland
Industrial, craft, religious, white-collar
US
Industrial, craft, white-collar, public
Germany
Industrial, white-collar, religious
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Thousands take to streets as
strikes cripple France
 In France, people are used
to having social conflict.
 Unions often hold a socialpolitical change agenda
 In Oct.-Nov. 2007, School
closed, flights delayed, trains
cancelled, and newspapers
not printed;
 Civil servants joined
transport workers in strikes
to challenge President
Nicolas Sarkozy’s reform
programs;
 Costing $400 million a day
for weeks of public
demonstration.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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German conductors forsake the
country’s model of consensus
 In Germany, social
 Also in Nov. 2007,
unrest is rare.
 Unions are viewed as
business partners since
post WWII.
Germany’s worst rail
strike since WWII lasted
for three days;
 Strikes have shattered
union unity;
 Costing $111 million.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Japanese Enterprise Union
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Most enterprise unions in the same industry affiliate into an
industry-wide federation.
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Nearly all of these federations are members of Rengō
(Japanese Trade Union Confederation).
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But an individual enterprise union normally bargains without
direct participation of the industrial federation or Rengō.
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Japanese enterprise unionism reflects Japan’s traditional low
turnover of labor and seniority-based system; workers tend
to identify with the company rather than with the union.
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Union strikes are rare, prescheduled, and short.
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Some unions seem to be unduly, even at times illegally,
influenced by management because of the close
identification of the union with the enterprise.
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Compared to other forms of the western unions, opinion is
divided on whether Japanese enterprise unions
effectively advance member interests.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
Japan McDonald’s
Workers’ Union
Executives with
President Takagi
9
The Challenge to the MNEs
 Standardization vs. local adaptation
 Global mindset and local responsiveness
National differences in economic, political, and
legal systems
Negotiation in other countries
Oversee labor agreement across borders
Decisions on issues such as off-shoring, unit
location, capital investment or divestment,
optimizing or sub-optimizing, and rationalization
of production capacity
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Industrial Relations Policies and
Practices
 Degree of centralization or decentralization
can be influence by several factors:
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Degree of inter-subsidiary production integration
Nationality of ownership of the subsidiary
IHR management approach
MNE prior experience in industrial relations
Subsidiary characteristics
Characteristics of the home product market
Management attitudes towards unions
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Degree of Inter-subsidiary Production
Integration and ILR
 High degree of integration was found to be the most
important factor leading to the centralization of the IR
function within the firms studied.
 Industrial relations throughout a system become of direct
importance to corporate headquarters when transnational
sourcing patterns have been developed, that is, when a
subsidiary in one country relies on another foreign
subsidiary as a source of components or as a user of
its output.
 In this context, a coordinated industrial relations policy
is one of the key factors in a successful global production
strategy.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Nationality of Ownership of the
Subsidiary
 US firms tend to exercise greater centralized control over labor
relations than do British or other European firms.
 US firms tend to place greater emphasis on formal management
controls and a close reporting system (particularly within the area of
financial control) to ensure that planning targets are met.
 Foreign-owned multinationals in Britain prefer single-employer
bargaining (rather than involving an employer association), and are
more likely than British firms to assert managerial prerogative on
matters of labor utilization.
 US-owned subsidiaries are much more centralized in labor relations
decision making than the British-owned, attributed to:
 More integrated nature of the US firms
 Greater divergence between British and the US labor relations
systems than between British and other European systems, and
 More ethnocentric managerial style of the US firms
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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IHR Management Approach
 An ethnocentric predisposition is more likely
to be associated with various forms of
industrial relations conflict.
 Conversely, more geocentric firms will bear
more influence on host-country industrial
relations systems, owing to their greater
propensity to participate in local events.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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MNE Prior Experience in Industrial
Relations
 European firms tend to deal with industrial
unions at industry level (frequently via employer
associations) rather than at the firm level.
 The opposite is more typical for U.S. firms
 In the U.S., employer associations have not
played a key role in the industrial relations
system, and firm-based industrial relations
policies are the norm.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Subsidiary Characteristics
 Subsidiaries formed through acquisition of well-established
indigenous firms tend to be given much more autonomy over
industrial relations than are green-field sites.
 Greater intervention would be expected when the subsidiary is
of key strategic importance to the firm and when the
subsidiary is young.
 Where the parent firm is a significant source of operating or
investment funds for the subsidiary – a subsidiary is more
dependent on headquarters for resources – there tend to be
increased corporate involvement in industrial relations and
human resource management.
 Poor subsidiary performance tends to be accompanied by
increased corporate involvement in industrial relations.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Characteristics of the Home
Product Market
 Lack of a large home market is a strong incentive to
adapt to host-country institutions and norms.
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If domestic sales are large relative to overseas operations (as is the
case with many US firms), it is more likely that overseas operations
will be regarded as an extension of domestic operations.
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For European firms, international operations are more like to
represent the major part of their business.
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Since the implementation of the Single European Market, there has
been growth in large European-scale companies (formed via
acquisition or joint ventures) that centralize management organization
and strategic decision-making.
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However, processes of operational decentralization with regard to
industrial relations are also evident.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Management Attitudes towards
Unions
 Knowledge of management attitudes or ideology concerning
unions may provide a more complete explanation of multinational
industrial relations behavior than relying solely on a rational
economic model.
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Competitive/confrontational versus cooperative/partnership
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Codetermination law and the Works Council in Germany
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European Works Council (EWC, since 1994)
 Union density in western industrial societies
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Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium have the highest
level of union membership
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U.S. managers tend to hold a union avoidance value
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France has the lowest unionization in the western world, but the
collective bargaining coverage is among the highest.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Table
9.2
Union Density and Collective Bargaining
Coverage
Country
Union
Density
Collective
Bargaining
Coverage
Union
Density
Collective
Bargaining
Coverage
Austria
28.9%
78%
Netherlands
18.9%
88%
Belgium
51.9%
90%
Norway
53.3%
77%
Denmark
67.6%
83%
Portugal
20.4%
87%
Finland
67.5%
90%
Spain
14.3%
68%
France
7.7%
95%
Sweden
68.3%
90%
Germany
19.1%
67%
U.K.
27.1%
36%
Greece
24%
65%
EU average
25%
66%
Ireland
32.2%
66%
U.S.
11.9%
13.8%
Italy
33.4%
90%
Japan
18.2%
20%
Luxembourg
37.4%
48%
OECD average
18.1%
-
Country
Based on ILO, OECD, EIRO 2010, union density 2008, collective bargaining coverage 2007; OECD average 2010
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Industrial Disputes and Strike
Proneness
 Hamill examined strike-proneness of multinational subsidiaries
and indigenous firms in Britain across three industries.
 Strike proneness was measured via three variables:
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Strike frequency
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Strike size
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Strike duration
 There was no difference across the two groups of firms with
regard to strike frequency.
 But multinational subsidiaries experienced larger and longer
strikes than local firms.
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Foreign-owned firms may be under less financial pressure to settle
a strike quickly than local firms – possibly because they can switch
production out of the country.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Unionization Trends and Key
Factors
 An overall decline among
 Economic shift from
industrial societies with a few
exceptions
 OECD average declined from
18.8% in 2005 to 18.1% in
2010
 Unionization rates remain high
in public or government
sectors
 Increased female unionization,
reaching equal or even higher
rates in some countries
manufacturing to service
oriented
 Global competition and
relocation of jobs
 Alternative ways of
employment
 EEOA related legislations
and social movement
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Table
9.3
Union Density Trends and Bargaining
Coverage by Percentage
Country
Union
Density
Coverage
Percentage change
1970-2003
U.S. 2004
12.5
13.8
-11.1
Canada 2004
30.3
32.4
-6.5
U.K. 2004
28.8
35.0
-15.5
Netherlands 2001
25.0
82.0
-14.2
Sweden 2003
78.0
92.0
10.3
Finland 2001
71.2
95.0
22.8
France 2003
8.3
95.0
-13.4
Austria 2002
35.4
99.0
-27.3
Germany 2003
22.6
63.0
-9.5
Japan 2003
19.6
23.5
-15.4
Source: Eurofound 2004
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Table
9.4
Union Density Trends in the Face of
Socioeconomic Changes
Country
Private
Public
Male
Female
7.9
46.4
13.8
11.1
Canada 2004
17.8
72.3
30.6
30.3
U.K. 2004
17.2
58.8
28.5
29.1
Austria 1998
29.8
68.5
44.0
26.8
France 2003
5.2
15.3
9.0
7.5
Germany 1997
21.9
56.3
29.8
17.0
Netherlands 2001
22.4
38.8
29.0
19.0
Norway 1998
43.0
83.0
55.0
60.0
Sweden 1997
77.0
93.4
83.2
89.5
Finland 2001
55.3
86.3
66.8
75.6
U.S. 2004
Source: data adapted from Eurofund 2004
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Union Membership by Gender
 More men in
 Equal gender
 More women
the union
participation
in the union
in the union
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U.S.
Germany
Austria
Netherlands
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Japan
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Canada
U.K.
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Ireland
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IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Sweden
Norway
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Finland
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24
Key Issues in International
Industrial Relations
 National differences in economic, political and legal
systems produce markedly different IR systems across
countries
 MNEs generally delegate the management of IR to their
foreign subsidiaries. However, a policy of decentralization
should not keep corporate headquarters from exercising
some coordination over IR strategy.
 Generally, corporate headquarters will become involved in
or oversee labor agreements made by foreign subsidiaries
because these agreements may affect the international
plans of the firm and/or create precedents for negotiations
in other countries.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Labor Relations in the U.S.
 National Labor Relations Act (1935), also known as
the Wagner Act
 Labor-Management Relations Act (1947), also called
the Taft-Hartley Act
 An organizational behavioral approach: voluntary
and informal, initiated by management, e.g.
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Participative management
Employee empowerment
Advocating market forces, efficiency, and effectiveness
Collective bargaining at the firm level
More adversarial labor relations
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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German Industrial Democracy
 A formal-structural approach aimed at equalizing
power
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Established since post WWII
The Codetermination Act (1951)
The Codetermination Law (1976)
 Supervisory Board
 Management Board
 Works council
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Trade Unions and International
Industrial Relations
 Trade unions may limit the strategic choices
of multinationals in three ways:
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Influencing wage levels to the extent that cost
structures may become uncompetitive;
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Constraining the ability of MNEs to vary
employment levels at will; and
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Hindering or preventing global integration of
the operations of multinationals.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Influencing Wage Levels
 Although the importance of labor costs relative
to other costs is decreasing, labor costs still
play an important part in determining cost
competitiveness in most industries.
 Multinationals that fail to manage their wage
levels successfully will suffer labor cost
disadvantages that may narrow their strategic
options.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Constraining the Ability to Vary
Employment Levels at Will
 In Western Europe, Japan and Australia, the inability of firms
to vary employment levels at will may be a more serious
problem than wage levels.
 Many countries now have legislation that limits considerably
the ability of firms to carry out plant closure, redundancy
or layoff programs unless it can be shown that structural
conditions make these employment losses unavoidable.
 Plant closure or redundancy legislation in many countries
frequently specifies that firms must compensate redundant
employees through specified formulae such as 2 weeks’ pay for
each year of service.
 In many countries, payments for involuntary terminations
are substantial, especially in comparison with those in the USA.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Constraining the Ability to Vary
Employment Levels at Will (cont.)
 Trade unions may influence this process in two ways:
 Lobbying their own national governments to introduce
redundancy legislation, and
 Encouraging regulation of MNEs by international
organizations such as the OECD, EU, UN, etc.
 Multinational managers who do not take these
restrictions into account in their strategic planning may
well find their options severely limited.
 Recent evidence shows that multinationals are
beginning to consider the ability to dismiss employees
to be one of the priorities when making investment
location decisions.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Hindering Global Integration of
Operations
 Many MNEs make a conscious decision not to integrate and
rationalize their operations to the most efficient degree, because to
do so could cause industrial and political problems.
 Car manufacturers were found sub-optimizing their manufacturing
networks partly to placate trade unions and partly to provide
redundancy in sources to prevent localized social strife from
paralysing their network, e.g.
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This ‘sub-optimization of integration’ led to unit manufacturing costs
in Europe 15% higher on average.
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GM in the early 1980s had undertaken substantial investments in
Germany at the demand of the German Metalworkers’ union (one of
the largest industrial unions in the Western world) in order to foster
good industrial relations in Germany.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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GM Europe
 Sells vehicles in over 40
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markets.
Operates 10 vehicleproduction and assembly
facilities in 7 countries
Employs around 54,500
people.
Additional directly related
jobs are provided by some
8,700 independent sales and
service outlets.
In 2008, GM market share in
Eurpoe declined.
GM Europe
2007
2008
Revenue
$37.4 bn
$34.4 bn
Earnings
(before tax)
$55 m
$(1,633) m
Workforce
55,651
54,500
Vehicles
produced
1,820,039 1,725,179
Vehicles sold
2,181,989 2,039,360
Market share
9.5%
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
9.3%
33
Table
9.5
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
China’s Top 10 Largest Passenger
Vehicle Makers
Name
Units 2010
SAIC-GM-Wuling
Shanghai GM
Shanghai Volkswagen
FAW Volkswagen
Chongqing Changan
Beijing Hyundai
Chery
Dongfeng Nissan
BYD
Toyota
Total:
1,135,600
1,012,100
1,001,400
870,000
710,000
703,000
674,800
661,000
519,800
505,900
7,793,600
Market share:
Growth 2010
16.26%
42.87%
37.50%
30.01%
36.93%
23.27%
34.87%
27.37%
15.93%
21.24%.
57.00%
Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/01/china-car-market-101-who-makes-all-those-18-million-cars/
SAIC-Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation; FAW-First Auto Works
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Trade Unions’ Response to MNEs
 Seeing the growth of multinationals as a threat to the
bargaining power of labor because of the considerable
power and influence of large multinational firms.
 Multinationals are not uniformly anti-union, but their
potential lobbying power and flexibility across national
borders creates difficulties for employees and trade
unions to develop countervailing power.
 There are several ways in which multinationals have an
impact upon trade union and employee interests.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
35
Seven Characteristics of MNEs as
the Source of Trade Union Concern
 Formidable financial resources
 Alternative sources of supply
 The ability to move production facilities to other countries
 A remote locus of authority
 Production facilities in many industries
 Superior knowledge and expertise in industrial relations
 The capacity to stage an ‘investment strike’
Refuse to invest any additional funds in a plant, thus
ensuring that the plant will become obsolete and
economically non-competitive
Offshoring
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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The Response of Trade Unions to
Multinationals
 The response of labor unions to multinationals has
been threefold:
1. Form international trade secretariats (ITSs)
2. Lobby for restrictive national legislation, and
3. Try to achieve regulation of multinationals by international
organizations
 International trade secretariats (ITSs)
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There are 15 ITSs, which function as loose confederations to
provide worldwide links for the national unions in a particular
trade or industry (e.g. metals, transport and chemicals).
The secretariats have mainly operated to facilitate the
exchange of information.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
37
The Goal of the ITSs
 The long-term goal of ITSs is to achieve
transnational bargaining through a similar
program, involving:
Research and information
Calling company conferences
Establishing company councils
Company-wide union–management discussions
Coordinated bargaining
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Limited Success of ITSs
 Overall, the ITSs have limited success, due to
several reasons:
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Generally good wages and working conditions
offered by multinationals,
Strong resistance from multinational firm
management,
Conflicts within the labor movement, and
Differing laws and customs in the industrial
relations field.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
39
Lobbying for Restrictive National
Legislation.
 On a political level, trade unions have for many years
lobbied for restrictive national legislation in the U.S.
and Europe.
 The motivation for trade unions to pursue restrictive
national legislation is based on a desire to prevent
the export of jobs via multinational investment
policies.
 A major difficulty is the reality of conflicting national
economic interests, especially in times of economic
downturn
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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Regulation of Multinationals by
International Organizations
 Attempts by trade unions to exert influence over MNEs
via international organizations, such as ETUC, ILO,
UNCTAD, OECD, EU, have met with some success.
 The International Labor Organization (ILO) has
identified a number of workplace-related principles that
should be respected by all nations:
Freedom of association
The right to organize and collectively bargain
Abolition of forced labor, and
Non-discrimination in employment
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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ILO code of conduct for MNEs
 The ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles
Concerning MNEs and Social Policy


Disclosure of information, competition, financing,
taxation, employment and industrial relations, and
science and technology
To make the MNEs more transparent
 A key section is the umbrella or chapeau clause
 MNEs should adhere to the guidelines
 As a ‘supplement to national law
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
42
OECD Guidelines for MNEs
 To promote responsible business conduct,
firms should
Respect human rights in every country they operate
Respect environment and labor standards,
including paying decent wages, combating bribe
solicitation and extortion, and the promotion of
sustainable consumption
Have appropriate due diligence processes in place
to ensure this happens
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
43
Regional Integration: EU
 ‘Social policy’ and ‘social dimension’ as a means to
achieve social justice and equal treatment of EU
citizens


Outlaw discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, and
color
Reaffirm workers’ rights to be informed, negotiate and take
collective action – right to strike
 European Works Councils 1994
 The issue of social ‘dumping’

Firms would locate in those member states that have lower
labor costs (relatively low social security) to gain a competitive
advantage
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
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The EU Social Dimension
 The social dimension aims to achieve a large labor market by
eliminating the barriers that restrict the freedom of movement
and the right of domicile within the SEM.
 Regional integration such as the development of the EU has
brought significant implications for industrial relations.
 In the Treaty of Rome (1957), some consideration was given to
social policy issues related to the creation of the European
Community.
 The terms ‘social policy’ or ‘social dimension’ are used to cover a
number of issues, such as:

Labor law and working conditions,

Aspects of employment and vocational training

Social security and pensions.
IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
45
Offshoring and HRM in India
 Benefits





 Challenges
3.1m graduates each
year
20% population speak
English
Salaries used to be 80%
lower than Western
employees
Technological
infrastructure, particularly
for information system
Motivation
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

IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
Low job satisfaction
High turnover rates at 2080%
Driving salary increase at
10-20%/yr
HR policies and practices
influenced by castes,
social relationships and
politics, rather than
performance
Low emphasis on training
and career development
46
Offshoring and HRM in China
 Challenges
 Benefits







Inexpensive manufacturing
High emphasis on education
and career advancement
Size of the market
Sociopolitical stability
Fast growing economy
Infrastructure, such as
transportation
Highway road length
secondary to the U.S.

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


IHRM, Dr. N. Yang
Language
High turnover rates
Lack of systematic link of
HRM with business strategy
Lack of systematic link
between performance, reward,
and long-term motivation
Lack of coherence and
continuity of enterprise training
Difficulty in assessing right
Guanxi
47
Monitoring Host-country
Subcontractors
 Outsourcing activities to host-country subcontractors
requires some monitoring of HR practices
 Further contracting is likely to occur.
 Vocal groups such as NGOs have accused MNEs of
condoning work practices that would not be permitted in
their home countries, regarding:





Child labor
Minimum pay
Work hours
Work conditions and safety
Environmental issues
 E.g., Nike, Levi Strauss, Benetton,
Reebok, Adidas, Apple, Shell Oil, PB, etc.
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HRM Roles with Global Codes of
Conduct
 Drawing up and reviewing codes of conduct
 Conducting a cost–benefit analysis to oversee
compliance of employees and relevant alliance
partners
 Championing the need to train employees and
alliance partners in elements of the code of conduct
 Checking that performance and rewards systems
take into consideration compliance to codes of
conduct
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49
HRM Roles with Offshoring
 Consultation with unions/employee representatives
 Manpower planning, considering the scope for
employee redeployment
 Contributing to the internal communication strategy
 Identifying training needs
 Designing new jobs which stem from offshoring
operations
 Highlighting potential risks, such as the implications
of employment regulation both in the home country
and in foreign locations.
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Chapter Summary
 In this chapter, we have reviewed and discussed
differences in industrial relations across borders, and
highlighted the complexity in international IR.
 We have also identified unionization trends and some
key factors
 Combining recognition of the overt segmentation
effects of international business with an
understanding of the dynamics of FDI yields the
conclusion that transnational collective bargaining is
likely to remain a remote possibility.
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Chapter Summary
 Trade unions should opt for less ambitious strategies in
dealing with multinationals, such as



Strengthening national union involvement in plant-based and
company-based bargaining
Supporting research on the vulnerability of selective
multinationals, and
Consolidating activities
 With regional economic integrations, it is likely that trade
unions and the ILO will pursue these strategies and
continue to lobby where possible for the regulation of
multinationals via the European Commission, the United
Nations, etc.
 Cross-cultural ethics and the role of IHRM
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Vocabulary
 industrial relations, trade










unions
regional economic zones
collective bargaining
enterprise unions
plant closure, redundancy,
layoff programs
lobbying
sub-optimizing
investment strike
offshoring
turnover rates
BPO = business process
outsourcing
 EHCNs = ex-host-country








nationals
guanxi, iron rice bowl
ITSs = international trade
secretariats, SEM, NCP, EU
ETUC, ILO, UNCTAD,
OECD, IFCTU, CIIME, EWC,
FIET, AFL-CIO
social dimensions, social
‘dumping’
umbrella or chateau clause
‘golden handshake’
strike-proneness
‘converging divergences’
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Discussion Questions
1. Why is it important to understand the historical origins of
national industrial relations systems?
2. In what ways can trade unions constrain the strategic
choices of multinationals?
3. Identify four characteristics of MNEs that give trade unions
cause for concern.
4. How has trade unions responded to MNEs? Have these
responses successful?
5. Can you give examples which are critical of multinational
firms?
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