Actors and institutions in Sweden

Public authorities facilitate dispute resolution and make sure that laws are followed. They do not interfere with collective bargaining between social partners. The Ministry of Employment is responsible for labour market policy, working life policy and integration in Sweden. Important public authorities under the Ministry of Employment are the Swedish Labour Court (Arbetsdomstolen), which rules on labour-related disputes, and the Swedish Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket), the labour inspectorate, which monitors and promotes health and safety measures at work. The Swedish National Mediation Office (Medlingsinstitutet) also operates under the Ministry of Employment. Its role is to mediate in labour disputes and promote efficient wage formation processes (National Mediation Office, 2019a).

In Sweden, industrial relations are based on trust and mutual understanding, and the tradition of a self-regulating system of collective agreements is firmly established. The government’s legislative role is limited, and there is no formal procedure for recognising employer or employee organisations. Instead, decisions regarding parties participating in bargaining processes are made through custom and practice.

About trade union representation

Trade unions have traditionally had a strong role in the Swedish labour market. The right to become a member of a trade union is regulated by the Employment (Co-Determination in the Workplace) Act. Since the Saltsjöbadsavtalet agreement was signed in 1938, trade unions and employers have had the right to negotiate wages and working conditions in collective agreements.

While trade union membership has declined since the beginning of the 21st century, membership in Sweden is still high by international standards. At the start of the 21st century, trade union density was around 80%. However, trade unions lost a large number of members in 2007 when the government increased fees for unemployment insurance funds, as these funds are connected to the trade unions. According to new regulations, the fees were to be based on the level of unemployment among trade union members. This meant that unions with higher levels of unemployment had higher fees.

In addition, unemployment rose more among blue-collar workers than among white-collar workers during the European financial crisis, meaning that blue-collar union fees increased disproportionately to those of white-collar unions. As a result, blue-collar union membership fell by seven percentage points between 2008 and 2014, whereas white-collar union membership rose by two percentage points over the same period (Kjellberg, 2019). The fee differentiation was abolished again in 2014. Since 2008, the overall trade union density has been stable at around 70%. During the pandemic, the historic trend in union membership was reversed, with membership rising slightly. This changing trend was mostly due to planned short-term lay-offs and temporary changes in requirements for accessing unemployment support funds associated with union membership (Kjellberg, 2022a).

Trade union membership and density, 2011–2021

Notes: * Proportion of employees who are members of a trade union. ** Employees aged 16–64, unemployed people and students working during their studies are excluded. *** Trade union membership of employees derived for the total union membership and adjusted, if necessary, for trade union members outside the active, dependent and employed labour force (i.e. retired workers, self-employed workers, students, unemployed people). **** Primarily includes active members – that is, unemployed members are included but not pensioners or students. Student members are included for the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisationen i Sverige, LO) throughout, and the self-employed in the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (Sveriges akademikers centralorganisation, SACO) are excluded prior to 2016. n.a., not available.

Sources: OECD and AIAS, 2021; Kjellberg, 2022a, 2022b.

Main trade union confederations and federations

On the employee side, there are three main peak-level social partner organisations.

• The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisationen i Sverige, LO) had 1.23 million active members in 2021. LO is mostly associated with blue-collar workers.

• The Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation, TCO) had 1.14 million active members in 2021. TCO is mostly associated with white-collar workers.

• The Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (Sveriges akademikers centralorganisation, SACO) had around 565,000 active members in 2021. SACO is mostly associated with employed university graduates.

These numbers changed dramatically on 1 January 2022 (not shown in the table below), when two teachers’ unions merged and as a result the Lärarförbundet union left TCO in favour of SACO, reducing the membership of TCO by 165,400 (Kjellberg, 2022a).

Main trade union confederations

Source: Kjellberg, 2022b, Table 46

Trade unions are demarcated by sector. There are approximately 60 trade unions, most of which are members of one of the three major trade union confederations mentioned above.

About employer representation

Membership of an employer organisation is voluntary and usually involves the signing of a collective agreement, although exceptions exist (for example, in the commerce sector). In contrast to the trade unions’ declining membership, employer organisations have not experienced any similar membership loss, and membership has remained stable since 1993 when it was 86%. In 2020, employer organisation density was 89%, and higher than trade union density (Kjellberg, 2019, 2022b).

Employer organisation membership and density, 2012–2022 (%)

Notes: * Percentage of employees working in an establishment that is a member of any employer organisation that is involved in collective bargaining. n.a., not available.

Main employer organisations

On the employers’ side, there are three main confederations: one for the private sector and two for the public sector. The largest private sector employer organisation is the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv, SN). It represents approximately 60,000 small, medium-sized and large companies that employ a total of around 1.9 million people.

The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner, SKR) is the largest employer organisation in the public sector, representing 290 municipalities and 21 regions (previously county councils) that employ a staff of over 1 million.

The Swedish Agency for Government Employers (Arbetsgivarverket, SAGE) is the membership organisation for government agencies. SAGE represents approximately 250 public authorities and agencies that have a total of 250,000 employees.

Most employers with a collective agreement are also members of an employer organisation. If the employer wishes to sign a collective agreement without becoming a member of an employer organisation, they can opt for a voluntary extension agreement (hängavtal) directly with the relevant trade union.

Main employer organisations and confederations

Source: National Mediation Office, 2022a

Agreements between the confederations (peak-level organisations) are known as central agreements (centrala överenskommelser). These generally concern negotiating procedures. Collective wage bargaining is carried out at sectoral and local levels.

Tripartite and bipartite bodies and concertation

Tripartite negotiations are rare in Sweden. Sweden has a tradition of discussion and cooperation between the social partners to establish the terms of collective bargaining. The social partners do not welcome intervention by the government, and the tradition of self-regulation through collective bargaining by social partners is strong.

Negotiations tend to start a few months before the collective agreement in place at the time is set to expire. Social partners in the manufacturing industry are usually the first to start bargaining, as the main collective agreement in that sector sets the benchmark for other sectors. LO generally coordinates its member organisations to put forward a joint bid. Many collective agreements are signed and set to expire in the same period, which makes for large-scale and intense bargaining rounds.

An important bipartite body is the Swedish Labour Court. This is a special court set up to rule on labour-related disputes. Both employers’ and employees’ interests are represented in the court. In addition, a significant development in recent times was the formation of the National Mediation Office in 2000, which was set up in order to help social partners reach agreements and promote a well-functioning wage structure.

Sweden also has around 10 job security councils (trygghetsråd), of which the three largest are Trygghetsrådet for the private sector, Trygghetsfonden for parts of the private sector and Trygghetsstiftelsen for the central government sector. The job security councils are bipartite bodies that help employees and employers handle labour market transitions. They operate based on collective agreements and help employees who have been made redundant find new employment.

Main tripartite and bipartite bodies

Trade unions: Trade unions are the most common form of employee representation. They are present in almost all workplaces where there are collective agreements, either as local representatives or as a local branch of the union. Trade union representatives negotiate on issues between employers and employees. The Employment (Co-Determination in the Workplace) Act (MBL 1976:580) regulates employees’ right to join a trade union. The right to engage in union activities in individual workplaces is regulated by the Trade Union Representatives (Status in the Workplace) Act (SFS 1974:358).

Health and safety committees: Health and safety committees are present in nearly all workplaces, in the form of a safety representative, a regional safety representative or a safety committee. The role of the health and safety representative or committee is to ensure that the employer follows work environment regulations, both physical and psychological. The Work Environment Act (AML 1977:1160) states that each workplace with five employees or more must have a health and safety representative. It is the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s responsibility to ensure compliance with the Work Environment Act.

Board representation: Employees have the right to have representatives on the boards of private sector companies with at least 25 employees, in order to gain insight into and influence the board’s work. This is regulated in the Board Representation (Private Sector Employees) Act (SFS 1987:1245).

Regulation, composition and competences of the bodies

Note: n.a., not available.