Social partner involvement in the 2002 NAP

This feature examines social partner involvement in Sweden's 2002 National Action Plan (NAP) for employment. It is one of a set of similar features for all the EU Member States, written in response to a questionnaire.

This feature outlines how Swedish social partner organisations have been involved in Sweden's 2002 National Action Plan (NAP) on employment (based on contacts with representatives of the central social partner organisations and on the NAP itself). Under the European employment strategy, each year the EU Member States draw up NAPs in response to the annual Employment Guidelines.

Similar features on social partner involvement in the 2002 NAPs have been drawn up by the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) national centres in all the EU Member States, in response to a questionnaire. Details on the background to this exercise, and the questionnaire used, can be found at TN0206102F. Readers are advised to refer to the questionnaire in conjunction with this feature.

The Swedish government submitted its 2002 NAP to the EU authorities in May. It focuses especially on the forthcoming problems created by an ageing population and the labour shortages expected as a result.

Procedural aspects

The government consulted the following social partner organisations on the 2002 NAP:

• the three main trade union confederations - the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen, LO), Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation, TCO) and Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (Sveriges Akademikers Centralorganisation, SACO);

• the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv), representing private sector employers; and

• the Swedish Association of Local Authorities (Kommunförbundet) and Federation of County Councils (Landstingsförbundet), representing public sector employers.

One public sector employers' body, the Swedish Agency for Government Employers (Arbetsgivarverket) decided not to take part in the work on the NAP in 2002 for reasons of workload and lack of internal resources.

All parties were invited by the Government to take part in 'active cooperation'. This involved a series of contacts and consultations, and the social partners supplied the government with material and comments, as well as making their own contributions to the NAP. There were no complaints from any party about not having been informed on time or not having had enough time to work on the NAP (with the exception of the abovementioned problems experienced by the governmental employers' body). The only problem was that the social partners found it somewhat problematic to prioritise the NAP work among their other tasks. However, LO states that, even if the work was intensive, it was worthwhile and very important from the trade unions' point of view.

The views submitted by the social partners are represented in the NAP, which includes specific contributions from the partners. These contributions are indicated clearly in the text of the NAP, with the identity of the partners concerned stated on each occasion. The contributions are found most frequently in the NAP's sections on adaptability and equal opportunities.

Matters of policy content

Objective D of the 2002 Employment Guidelines calls for a 'comprehensive partnership with the social partners for the implementation, monitoring and follow-up of the employment strategy'). Collaboration with the social partners over Sweden's NAPs, initiated in 1999, was continued by the government in 2002. As seen above, the social partners participated in the process of drawing up the 2002 NAP and supplied material on the implementation of the Employment Guidelines specifically addressed to the partners. In terms of implementation, government offices have regular collaboration with the social partners on the European employment strategy and proposals for EU Directives in the labour market field. The 2002 NAP highlights the role of the social partners in contributing to employment policy through collective bargaining which ensures wage moderation and counters gender wage differences. Bargaining also plays a role in helping workers retrain or find new employment in the event of redundancies. The social partners also cooperate in labour market and training policy at regional and local levels.

With regard to the social partners' assessment of the government's employment policy, Sweden's own employment strategy, set in 1996, includes an unemployment rate of 4% - a target met in 2001. There is a national employment target of an employment rate among the 20-64 age group of 80% by 2004 - in March 2002, the employment rate stood at 77.6%. All the social partners agree that Sweden should uphold the 'Swedish model' and promote an active labour market policy. They also agree, more or less, that the effectiveness of labour market programmes should be overhauled and that the unemployment insurance system should be revised to make it more efficient and stimulate increased employment. With regard to the national employment target (see above), the TCO union confederation believes this should be discussed more in the light of practice in terms of the form of work or number of hours worked, which would provide a better measure of the employment rate than the normal employment statistics used to assess the employment target. The increasing level of sickness absence, included to some extent in the employment statistics, gives a misleading picture of the active labour force, says TCO. LO agrees with the government's ambitions set out in its employment strategy.

With regard to their views on the 2002 NAP itself, the Swedish social partners considers that it is a growing problem that the Employment Guidelines are becoming more and more complicated. LO, TCO and SACO have stated that it is desirable that the number of guidelines should decrease and that the focus should be placed on one or two of the guidelines' four pillars. Another problem is that knowledge about the NAP is scarce, even within the organisations and the authorities that are concerned in this area.

Bargaining

The 2002 Employment Guidelines promote collective bargaining in the areas of:

• improving the quality of work and employment (in general);

• modernising work organisation (guideline 13);

• lifelong learning in the context of competence and skill development in enterprises (guideline 15);

• 'active ageing' (guideline 3);

• strengthening equal opportunities for men and women (tackling the gender pay gap, desegregating the labour market, reconciling work and family/private life etc) (guidelines 16,17 and 18); and

• social integration by way of better access to the labour market for groups and individuals at risk or at a disadvantage, such as people from ethnic minorities, migrant workers, long-term unemployed people and people with disabilities (guideline 7).

Most sectoral collective agreements in Sweden currently have a three-year term, and the last main bargaining round was in spring 2001 (SE0105102F) (the next will be in 2004). There has thus been little bargaining since November 2001 (when the 2002 Employment Guidelines were sent to the Member States). However, the 2002 NAP highlights some examples of previous bargaining in the areas listed above and provides detail of existing legislation in these areas or of new legislation being prepared (such new legislation is often likely to promote collective bargaining in the area concerned).

Quality of work and employment

In a contribution to the 2002 NAP, the social partners stress that they have been working together around work environment issues for a long time - notably through the joint body Prevent- with the focus on training and information. In late 2001, the government launched tripartite talks with the social partners on the issue of 'increased health in working life', seeking to put into effect an 11-point programme drawn up by the government (SE0111108F). The tripartite talks are aimed at establishing a common approach and coordinating initiatives within the programme. Within the framework of the talks, consultation is to take place between the government and the social partners on the programme's proposed measures.

Modernising work organisation

The 2001 collective bargaining round, alongside pay issues, concentrated on various working time issues, with the aim of cutting working time (a development started in the 1998 bargaining round). Several models were discussed and taken up in agreements. Most agreements also allow for local bargaining parties to conclude agreements on reducing working time and introducing flexibility in the arrangement of working time for both company and employee. About half of Swedish employees are covered by agreements on working time reduction and flexibility.

Lifelong learning

The social partners have concluded a number of collective agreements on skills development, which are normally of a general character and allow considerable scope for local collaboration in this area. In a contribution to the 2002 NAP, the social partners state that they take a positive view of skills development and that their ambition is to encourage and contribute to lifelong learning, according to the employment, social cohesion and competitiveness objectives set at the European Council meetings in Lisbon (EU0004241F) and Feira (EU0007258N) in 2002. The trade unions and the government recently reached agreement on an individual learning accounts scheme, planned to come into force in 2003 (SE0204102F).

Gender policy

Collective bargaining frequently deals with issues related to equal opportunities and the reconciliation of work and family life. For example, in the 2001 bargaining round, some agreements provided that 'pregnancy benefit' should be made available also to men, while some companies pay a special supplement to paternity benefit (SE9909192F). In a contribution to the 2002 NAP, the three trade union confederations state that they have a common interest in contributing to the labour market being less segregated by gender, and that it is part of the work of unions to find active measures to counteract wage discrimination. In a joint contribution on reconciling work and family life, the social partners state that it is of great importance, both for businesses and staff, for it to be possible for individuals to combine work and family life. They therefore strive to contribute to a positive development in this area in every way.

Commentary

The white-collar trade union confederation, TCO, considers it important that work should be started on simplifying the NAP process and the number of guidelines. Also, it believes that the goals originally set in the 'Luxembourg process' must not be lost because different Member States, when assuming the EU Presidency, place new priorities on the agenda. TCO perceives a constant struggle between more growth-oriented macroeconomic priorities on one hand, and labour market policy and labour force-oriented measures for more employment on the other. From the Swedish point of view, the social partners agree that active employment measures should be carried out at the same time as macroeconomic measures. LO shares TCO's opinion, on the whole. However, it believes that it is important to keep in mind that the European employment strategy, though important, cannot replace national processes.

SACO states that, even if it is somewhat critical regarding the way in which NAPs are handled, it supports the European employment strategy on the whole and regards it as a very important process, with many advantages, including for SACO. The work on the Swedish NAP has resulted in the social partners meeting and holding a united discussion on labour market issues, which has been inspiring, SACO concludes. (Annika Berg, Arbetslivsinstitutet)