The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Labour Relations 1976–1979

Employee participation is deemed necessary in the name of good governance and corporate social responsibility. For this reason it forms an essential aspect of legal instruments drafted by international public institutions and aimed at multinational enterprises. Despite this, enterprises clearly prefer to take a unilateral approach in the rules they adopt to implement CSR policies, and an individual approach to employee relations, to the detriment of collective labour relations. CSR thus presents two radically different facets: one of which is favourable to transnational social dialogue, while the other presents firms with an opportunity to regain areas of control over their employees at the expense of public freedoms and fundamental rights. The co-existence of these two aspects of CSR confronts public authorities with the following dilemma: either they allow self-regulation to take its course, and risk seeing violations of international labour law and national legislation, or they intervene in order to ensure compliance with existing international instruments.

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Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Labour Relations

Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations ◽

10.1007/978-94-017-4361-7_5 ◽

1982 ◽

pp. 81-97

Author(s):

R. Blanpain

Keyword(s):

Multinational Enterprises ◽

Labour Relations

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Part III The Social Dimension, 13 Labour Relations

Multinational Enterprises and the Law ◽

10.1093/law/9780198824138.003.0013 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Muchlinski Peter T

Keyword(s):

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Multinational Enterprises ◽

Social Dimension ◽

Decent Work ◽

Labour Relations ◽

Labour Rights ◽

Labour Standards ◽

Corporate Social

This chapter examines labour relations. The main elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR) applicable to multinational enterprises (MNEs) revolve around labour relations, human rights and environmental sustainability, which form the core contents of international corporate social responsibility (ICSR) instruments. The extension of CSR to MNEs arises from the perceived risk that they have the power to act with impunity against the interests of stakeholders affected by their operations, giving rise to growing demands for rebalancing corporate responsibilities towards more social ends. Labour rights represent the oldest category of social rights under national and international law and are key to understanding the rise of ICSR and its legal responses. The chapter then explores the historical role of labour rights in ICSR. It considers how the operations of MNEs and global value chains (GVCs) have caused changes in labour practices. It also studies the consequences of these changes on the regulation of labour relations in MNEs and GVCs, including the shift in contemporary transnational labour standards to the notion of ‘decent work’. Finally, the chapter assesses how the ‘decent work’ idea can be put into practice through national laws, international labour rights and transnational labour practices.

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Mr A preliminary comparative perspective on the role of multinational enterprises in influencing labour relations of their host nation

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal ◽

10.14738/assrj.612.6980 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (12) ◽

pp. 298-318

Author(s):

OLANIYI JOSHUA OLABIYI OLABIYI

Keyword(s):

News Media ◽

Multinational Enterprises ◽

Employment Relations ◽

Commercial Law ◽

African Countries ◽

Labour Relations ◽

Related Matter ◽

Qualitative Thematic Analysis ◽

Labour Standards ◽

Host Nation

This paper examines the operations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in so far as they are able to influence the public and labour relations policy and law of their host nation with a special attention on African nations. It is to be expected that MNEs would already be comfortable with the mechanisms in place for the resolution of labour-related or commercial disputes in their country of origin. The question then that arises is: If confronted with an employment relations situation in their host nation, would the MNE attempt to circumvent or adapt the process to suit what they are already familiar with? This could pose a challenge for the practice of international labour law. Literature (Briscoe, Schuler & Tarique, 2012; Eweje, 2009; Iyanda & Bello, 1979; Onimode, 1978) already alludes to the fact that MNEs tend to take the ‘line of least resistance’ if confronted with ‘higher’ labour standards. A comparative exploratory analysis was undertaken. The paper identified MNEs in selected African countries – Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia – that have been reported to have had a challenge in dealing with labour-related or commercial standards of their host nation. The selected MNEs had been reported in the news media for having had a ‘run in’ with their host nation on, at least, a labour - or commercial law-related matter. The principal legislation governing labour relations in these countries are, in some cases, briefly highlighted to underscore the extent of their breach or disregard by the examined MNEs. Furthermore, a qualitative, thematic analysis of selected reported cases involving these MNEs were undertaken to highlight evidences (or instances) of attempts, if any, by the MNEs to circumvent the commercial, fiscal or labour standards of the host nation. Finally, it is hoped that the result of the above analyses would inform the possibility of proposing a framework for MNEs compliance with the labour standards of their host nation.

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The Japanese Production System and Its International Transferability

Malaysian Management Journal ◽

10.32890/mmj.2.2.1997.8547 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hiroshi Kumon

Keyword(s):

Production System ◽

Multinational Enterprises ◽

Production Control ◽

Work Organization ◽

Local Area ◽

Shop Floor ◽

Labour Relations ◽

Automobile Assembly ◽

Overseas Operations ◽

Set Up

The Japanese production system has an ethnic or national basis. There are considered to be three production components of the system-shop-floor-centred work organization, waste-free production control, and participative management in the context of cooperative labour relations. For each of these, it is possible to set up a Japanese-type'. The author is conducting research into the overseas operations of Japanese subsidiaries in automobile assembly. Japanese multinational enterprises presumably try to apply the system to their overseas operations to take advantage of its strengths; however, given that they have moved into a foreign country, presumably Japanese enterprises have to adapt to the management environment of the local area. This research investigates the following questions: (i) Does this 'application' and 'adaptation' result in a dilemma? (ii) What is actually being applied and what has not been possible to apply? (iii) How well is the balance between 'application' and 'adaptation' being achieved? According to surveys of Japanese manufacturing plants in North America, Asia, and Europe, the application of the system is possible. Of course this does not mean that it can be applied 100%. The pattern of application varies according to the management strategy of the Japanese enterprises.

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Globalisation and Labour Relations, Peter Leisink, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (USA): Edward Elgar, 1999, xii+259 pp.

Work Employment and Society ◽

10.1017/s0950017001270275 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 421-432

Author(s):

THOMAS MURAKAMI

Keyword(s):

Labour Relations ◽

Edward Elgar

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Centralization and Effectiveness of Reward Management in Multinational Enterprises

Journal of Personnel Psychology ◽

10.1027/1866-5888/a000195 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 55-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michael Tekieli ◽

Marion Festing ◽

Xavier Baeten

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Identity Theory ◽

Multinational Enterprises ◽

Role Identity ◽

Management Decision ◽

Role Identities ◽

Management Decision Making ◽

New Perspective ◽

Subsidiary Managers ◽

The Relationship

Abstract. Based on responses from 158 reward managers located at the headquarters or subsidiaries of multinational enterprises, the present study examines the relationship between the centralization of reward management decision making and its perceived effectiveness in multinational enterprises. Our results show that headquarters managers perceive a centralized approach as being more effective, while for subsidiary managers this relationship is moderated by the manager’s role identity. Referring to social identity theory, the present study enriches the standardization versus localization debate through a new perspective focusing on psychological processes, thereby indicating the importance of in-group favoritism in headquarters and the influence of subsidiary managers’ role identities on reward management decision making.

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