Transnational strike action by trade unions

Due to the coercive use of economic power by transnational enterprises, successful strike action must be carried out in several countries to have its desired effect, although the international orientation of such strike action on the part of labour may lead to conflict with states. Problems may arise in that: efforts to influence a bargaining process by citing better conditions elsewhere may not always be welcome in the host country; sympathetic strikes in support of labour disputes in other countries are illegal in many places. In addition, labour has economic interests beyond working conditions; for example, barriers erected against certain imports may be considered beneficial to labour in a particular nation but detrimental to labour in the exporting country. Restrictions on the outflow of capital and technology may be favoured by labour in a home country, but undesirable from the point of view of labour in other countries.