This paper aims to give a flavour of the latest developments across Europe and inform policy makers of topical issues. It will present measures taken in response to the recession (both employment market measures and financial stimulus packages), outline the extent of social partner involvement, and
This report uses research findings from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) to outline important features of the Swedish labour market in general, and the industrial relations system in particular, as well as the issues both are currently facing.
We already know that green environments have a positive effect on recovery from stress, but it is only recently that scientists have explored the possibility of achieving the same result on a virtual basis. In a recent collaborative study between the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences (SLU
According to Eurostat figures [1], the harmonised unemployment rate of young people (aged 15–24) in August 2011 was 23% in Sweden compared with the EU27 average of 20.9%. The high unemployment rate is frequently debated and is seen as one of the major failures of the Swedish labour market. While all
In the bargaining round of 2007 the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO [1]) introduced a ‘gender equality fund’ in their central agreement as a way to address the gender pay gap. The fund was introduced because previous central agreements had not helped improve wage equality (SE1006019I [2])
During the 2011–2012 bargaining round, over 500 of Sweden’s 650 collective agreements will be up for renewal, affecting roughly 2.8 million employees. This is the biggest round in recent years.
GörranArrius, former Chair ofthe Swedish Union of University Graduates(Jusek [1]), assumed his position at the Swedish Federation of Professional Associations (SACO [2]) at the end of August 2011. In this new role, his aim will be to focus more on individuals and less on the collective, which
Richard Berglund, a social scientist at the Department of Work Science at the University of Gothenburg [1], followed three companies during four years for his doctoral thesis while these companies introduced ‘lean production’. Lean production entails a continuous process of quality and improvement
Sweden experienced high unemployment and rising inflation during the early and mid-1990s. In 1995, collective bargaining rounds resulted in open conflict, and large pay increases over and above those set in collective agreements were seriously threatening the country’s economic stability. To ensure
The Federation of White-Collar Workers (TCO [1]) is Sweden’s second largest trade union confederation, with roughly 1.2 million members and 16 member organisations. Approximately half of the members work in the private sector and half in the public sector. TCO does not normally negotiate in
To battle long term-unemployment, the Swedish centre-right government introduced a job and development guarantee programme in July 2007. The programme is offered to people who have been out of work for 300 days and have used up their time on unemployment insurance, and is divided into three phases.
For several months the two social partners in Sweden’s banking sector, the Financial Sector Union of Sweden (Finansförbundet [1]) and the Employers’ Organisation of the Swedish Banking Institutions (BAO [2]), negotiated over wages and employment conditions for about 30,000 members in 375 companies