oa Ontstaan en betekenis van transnationale kaderovereenkomsten

Origin and meaning of transnational framework agreements

In recent years the number of transnational framework agreements (international and European framework agreements) has grown rapidly. In many respects it can be considered as a reaction to existing, voluntary codes of conduct. The question to be addressed in this article concerns the impact of this kind of agreements. Are they – as is sometimes expected – a sign of an emerging global industrial relations framework or of international collective bargaining? It is concluded here that global industrial relations are still a very distinct utopia, but framework agreements can be considered as a first step in the direction of a global arrangement.