Codes of Conduct of Multinational Companies and International Trade Union Action: Thoughts on the Contribution of State Law

Trade unions, like other actors of the civil society, can resort to different ways of action to convince multinational companies to adhere to a code of conduct, to respect its terms or to amend them. Rules of law govern actions such as shareholders' propositions, boycotts, or strikes. This article presents these rules & attempts to illustrate the opportunities they create & the limits they impose on actors, particularly on trade unions. Viewed from this perspective, the rules of corporate law, constitutional law of freedom of expression, & civil law appear to represent legal resources that provide new means of international trade union actions. This inevitably questions the role of the labor law regarding the protection or promotion of new methods of exercising freedom of association. Adapted from the source document.