This chapter discusses key issues in international industrial relations and policies and practices of multinational companies. It outlines how industrial relations systems differ across countries due to historical and societal factors. Trade unions can constrain multinational strategies by influencing wages, employment levels, and integration across countries. Unions are concerned with multinationals' resources, ability to relocate, control, and potential "investment strikes." Unions respond through international coordination and lobbying for restrictions. The European Union standardizes some policies through information sharing and works councils.

10. Trade Union Structure in Leading Western Industrial Societies (Table 10.1)

15. Union Membership for Selected Countries (Table 10.2)