ETUC and European Framework
Agreements (EFAs)
Wolfgang Kowalsky
Relevance
By early 2012, 224 transnational
company agreements were recorded
in 144 companies, mostly with
headquarters in Europe, covering
over 10 million employees
 85% of such TCAs are European

Recent developments
Opportunities and difficulties
 EFAs should enhance national
collective bargaining practices
 Disseminate positive bargaining
results


ETUC Discussion Note “More and
Better European Company
Framework Agreements: Enhancing
Trade Unions in Transnational
Negotiations with Transnational
Companies” (ETUC Executive
Committee, 5-6/06/2012)
Europ. Commission on 10/09/12
European Commission issued the
Staff Working Document
“Transnational company
agreements: realising the potential of
social dialogue”
 Emerging factor in EU social
dialogue


EC launches a public consultation aimed
at collecting the opinions of relevant
stakeholders (until 31/12/2012)
 9 key questions concerning the general
scope and amplitude of a European policy
(scope, actors, legitimacy, transparency,
implementation, legal effects, dispute
resolution..)
 proposes conclusions and options for
further initiatives (for example through
guidelines)
ETUC response for Executive
Committee

Draft aimed at defining the ETUC
position, in order to provide a joint
response to the European
Commission’s consultation on
transnational negotiations with
multinational companies
ETUC: EFAs can have positive
effects
EFAs can promote the upward
harmonisation of working conditions
throughout the operations (TNC) of
the same transnational company in
different countries
 They can provide innovative routes
for anticipating change in
transnational companies

EFAs
In cross-border restructuring
processes, EFAs are an instrument
for building cross-border solidarity,
facilitating mediation of interests
 support and enhance social dialogue
in countries where industrial
relations are underdeveloped

ETUC

The ETUC looks positively on the
establishing of an enabling
environment for EFAs as they have
been shown to ‘have greater capacity
to attain their initial objectives’ and
they ‘may refer to a more
homogenous set of rules and
traditions’
ETUC agrees that TCAs should be
supported and further developed
according to the proposals advanced
by the social partners
 Many ETUFs have established
procedures in which transnational
negotiations should take place

ETUFs’ procedures provide
concrete answers
Clarifying:
 defining actors entitled to carry on
negotiations and sign the
agreements
 how to get the mandate to negotiate
and set up delegations
 best form of the agreements, in order
to ensure the implementation
ETUFs’ procedures
provisions aimed at preventing legal
disputes, also through monitoring
systems, dispute resolution,
penalties
 Non regression clauses
 proper paths for promoting the
transparency and dissemination of
information

Draft position

While preserving the autonomy of
the social partners in establishing
the rules of the game, an optional
framework of rules for transnational
negotiation with multinational
companies may still be needed to
provide references for those who
wish to be engaged in EFAs
Draft position for the ETUC Exec
Cttee 17-18/10/2012

“The ETUC looks favourably on the
adoption of an optional frame of
rules for EFAs and largely agrees
with the possible contents of such a
framework, as described in Staff
Working Document.”
What‘s next?

We are aware that the most
representative employers’
associations at European level have
a negative attitude towards getting
engaged in such an exercise
but the ETUC is confident that a
different opinion may emerge from
many of the multinational companies
operating in Europe and from the
sectoral employers’ organizations,
notably in the context of the sectoral
social dialogue.
 THANK YOU!
