Non-profit associations and cooperatives ready to bargain on hours cuts

Non-profit associations and cooperatives in Sweden have turned out to be the first employers who are prepared to negotiate over a reduction of working time in the 1997 bargaining round.

When negotiations on wages and general terms of employment for employees in non-profit associations and cooperatives started in July 1997, the employers' organisation, Arbetsgivaralliansen, invited the trade unions to bargain on a reduction of working time, provided that increases in pay from 1 January 1998 were to be limited to 1%. At the same time, it wants to negotiate on more flexible rules on the organisation of working hours.

Other employers' organisations have so far rejected the trade unions' claims for shorter working hours. The reason why Arbetsgivaralliansen decided to offer its employees shorter working hours instead of money is that many of its affiliates finance their activities with public subsidies, which have been reduced in the last few years, and they have no alternative ways of increasing their income. "So now we want to discuss in modern terms how to adapt working time to the needs of the employer as well as of the employee", a spokesperson of the organisation stated.

The trade unions will give their response to the employers' proposals within the next few weeks.

Arbetsgivaralliansen, which is independent of the main confederation for private employers, Swedish Employers' Association (Svenska Arbetsgivareföreningen, SAF), represents about 1,300 employers and covers around 10,000 workers.