A couple of new labour laws, adapting to the European Union law came into force at mid-year in Sweden

A new law about working time for cabin staff in civil aviation and a new law about road working time at certain road transports came into force 1 July 2005 in Sweden. Also new rules in the Working Time Act took effect. The Co-Determination on the Work-Place Act was amended and a wider right to information and consent took effect.

During the summer, 1 July 2005, a couple of new Swedish labour laws came into force. The new legislation was carried out in order to adapt to various European Union Directives. First, the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) accepted a new law about working time etc. for cabin staff in civil aviation. Swedish law covers already most issues established in the concerned European Directive 2000/79/EG. The remaining issues, laid down in the new law encompass all employees working in an aircraft. The yearly working time may not exceed 2,000 working hours out of which a maximum of 900 working hours is allowed. There are also regulations on the minimum number of days of leave for the aircraft worker at a stationary place.

Another law coming into force was a new Working Time Act for Road Workers doing specific road transports. The new law covers mobile workers, i.e. staff that moves around to different places and is employed by a company performing personal or goods transports. What is new in relation to old Swedish rules is that the total of working time may not exceed 48 hours in average. Further, work may be performed at the most 10 hours per day and night at night work.

The Swedish Working Time Act (Arbetstidslagen 1982:673) has been amended in order to make a clearer implementation of the Working Time Directive 93104/EG. The amendments mean new regulations for the average weekly working time, day and night requirements of rest, working time for night workers and rules for compensatory leave at occasional deviations from the current rule of day and night rest.

Finally, the right of information and consent was extended to working places with no collective agreements, in line with the implementation of the Directive 2002/14/EG. A new compulsory rule has been added to the Swedish Co-Determination in the Work Place Act (Medbestämmandelagen 1976:580). An employer not being bound by any collective agreement at all should keep trade unions, having members in the work place employed by the said employer informed about how the business activities are developing, in production and economy and by guidelines for the staff policy. (SE0409101N)

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