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The purpose of the workshop was to organise an exchange of views and practice among the stakeholders of these key multinational finance companies that are at the forefront of developing transnational industrial relations.



A major obstacle for developing transnational industrial relations is the continuing differences in traditions, laws and practices at the national level. Moreover, multinational companies are complex, tend to be intransparent and difficult to control from the centre. Several participants indicated that in their companies there is clear support for advanced social dialogue and industrial relations by top management. However, very often this did not filter down to local management. A further barrier, especially with regard to Central and Eastern Europe, is the weakness of trade union and workers' representative structures generally.



"The challenges that both unions and companies face in the emergence of transnational industrial relations are closely interrelated and often the same," said UNI Finance's Oliver Roethig. "It is therefore very important to bring unions, workers' representatives and management around one table to find answers together."



The workshop started with a presentation by each company introducing a best practice feature of industrial relations and social dialogue at group level:

• social dialogue provisions in the European works council agreement (Axa)
• Principles of social management (Dexia)
• Global framework agreement (Danske Bank)

Participants also looked at further challenges of transnational industrial relations:

• emergence of cross-national integrated business operations,
• role of cross-national social dialogue with a company and its link to national industrial relations structures
• emergence of cross-national frameworks on working conditions and job description,
• mobility and relocation of jobs.

Further topics included:

• ensuring core labour standards throughout a group of companies,
• global framework agreeements,
• the impact of the financial crisis,
• the role of European social dialogue.

The workshop was part of UNI Finance project on a social and ethical finance industry supported financially by the European Commission. It took place in Brussels on 27 and 28 October.