Syndicats et responsabilité sociale des multinationales

Certain multinational firms decide to negotiate an international framework agreement with employee representatives in order to formalize their commitments to corporate social responsibility. The aim of this article is to highlight the diversity of spokespersons on the side of labour in such situations and to show the implications of the choice of employee representative on the bargaining process and the implementation of the agreement. Following a general presentation of international framework agreements and their potential contribution to social responsibility, this article describes four models for the participation of internal stakeholder representatives in the negotiation and implementation of these agreements as observed within international groups. Interviews conducted with managers and labour representatives in several European multinational firms that have negotiated a framework agreement allow us to identify, for each model, the motivations of the actors involved, the bargaining process, the measures taken to disseminate and monitor the agreement as well as the results obtained. In conclusion, the article attempts to draw lessons from these four models for the participation of employee representatives for the management of a social responsibility approach.