Transnational company agreements, a win-win approach for companies and employee representatives (from a report as part of the joint ETUC-BusinessEurope project)

For the first time, trade unions, employers’ organizations and businesses have discussed the issue of transnational company agreements as part of a joint ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) – BusinessEurope project (to which Planet Labor contributed), entitled, Building On Experiences, A Win-Win Approach To Transnational Industrial Relations In Multinational Companies. The final report is based on workshop content and interviews conducted with 8 companies that had signed either international or European agreements and ends with a list of policy conclusions from the ETUC and Business Europe.
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The report (available here – in various languages) explores the reasons why companies choose to commit to a TCA, the shared benefits for both parties, and how such agreements can enable innovative solutions to be found that can address sometime complex national situations and develop social dialogue across companies’ subsidiaries.

In their landmark policy conclusions, Europe’s employers and unions emphasize that ‘TCAs are one important tool for social dialogue that trade unions and multinational

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