Exploratory talks start on a pact for growth

In October 1998, the Swedish Employers' Confederation and the three main trade union confederations revealed that they had begun "exploratory talks" with the aim of concluding a so-called pact for growth. This provoked speculation about the conclusion of a new basic agreement in line with the historic Saltsjöbaden agreement of 1938.

On 23 October 1998, the Swedish Employers' Confederation (Svenska Arbetsgivareföreningen, SAF) and the three main trade union confederations - the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisationen, LO), the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation, TCO) and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (Sveriges Akademikers Centralorganisation, SACO) - jointly issued a short press release announcing that they had started "exploratory talks" on setting up lasting and stable preconditions for growth and employment - a "pact for growth" (allians för tillväxt). The social partners also declared that, in order to give the talks the best chance of succeeding, they had agreed not to make any further comments on the content of the talks.

An employers' representative has stated that the committee currently assigned to propose strengthening of the powers of the public mediators should postpone the publication of its report (SE9811121F), as otherwise the talks might be put in jeopardy. This provoked speculation about the possibility of a new basic agreement in line with the historic Saltsjöbaden agreement (Saltsjöbadsavtalet) of 1938, where SAF and LO agreed on restraints on the right to take industrial action as well as procedural rules for negotiations and the settlement of disputes.

In a joint statement, the two new ministers for labour market and industry affairs, Björn Rosengren and Mona Sahlin, said that they attached great expectations to the talks.

Until the announcement in October, the talks had been so secret that even some of the trade unions affiliated to LO and TCO were taken by surprise. However, all TCO unions subsequently gave their leaders a mandate to continue the talks. Most of the LO unions did the same, though the Transport Workers' Union (Svenska Transportarbetareförbundet, Transport) and the Commercial Employees' Union (Handelsanställdas förbund, Handels) expressed some reservations.

Both SAF and TCO have underlined that they have no mandate to conclude binding collective agreements. This is a matter exclusively for their respective affiliated organisations.