Corporate governance is about the accountability mechanisms that govern the relations among shareholders, the board of directors, senior management, the workers and other stakeholders (creditors, suppliers, local communities, etc.).

Depending on the national framework that governs corporations, trade union approaches to corporate governance will differ. Continental European workers have a voice within the internal governance structure of corporations (works councils, board level employee representation). In countries where the pension system rely on pre-funding schemes (by opposition to “pay-as-you-go” publicly financed), such as in Anglo-American economies, the labour movement seeks influence over institutional investors, including pension funds, to act as responsible and long term shareholders of the companies they invest workers' retirement funds, or through traditional collective bargaining. In the developing and emerging world.