Tripartite talks on promoting skills development lead to agreement in principle

On 3 September 1998, a tripartite working party on skills development in Swedish working life presented its report. It proposes that employers' organisations and trade unions should begin a campaign to stimulate local agreements on skills development, and that the state should contribute by giving employers a tax reduction. The government, however, is not yet ready to permit the necessary funding to implement the measures agreed in principle.

The need for recurrent training in working life, "skills development" or, in the words of Prime Minister Göran Persson, even a "skills revolution", has been constantly stressed by government representatives, trade unions and employers' organisations during the last few years (SE9708132F and SE9806190F). Thus in February 1998 the government invited employers and unions to tripartite talks on what contributions they themselves were prepared to make to the promotion of skills development in working life, and what the state could do to support or stimulate these joint efforts. The government declared that it was ready to finance part of the solutions agreed by the parties, provided that this could be done without exceeding budget restrictions. In other words, the working party had to propose economies that would compensate for the costs.

It soon emerged that employers and trade unions were agreed on most points, but it was more difficult to persuade the government representatives to make any commitments. Thus, when the working party presented its long-awaited report on 3 September 1998, it appeared that the government was not yet ready to allow the necessary funding for the implementation of the measures agreed in principle.

Local agreements and tax reduction

The working party proposes that employers' organisations and trade unions should begin a wide-ranging campaign to stimulate local agreements on skills development. The state should contribute by allowing employers a tax reduction calculated on the pay of employees who take part in training activities. A prerequisite is that these activities should be agreed between the employer and local branches of the trade unions which concluded the relevant sectoral collective agreements on pay and general terms of employment. The employers' organisations and the unions undertake to help the local parties where they fail to reach such agreements. The agreements should cover all employees at the workplace, irrespective of whether they were organised or not. Employers which are not bound by any collective agreement should also be able to benefit from the subsidy. An agreement between an employer and its employees would, however, not be sufficient - additional control measures are required for these cases.

The activities could be traditional courses, but also other forms of organised learning such as project work or job rotation. The content and the forms of learning must be adapted to the conditions of each enterprise. The working party however, stresses the need for quality control. The subsidy should lead to more and better vocational training than at present. The fact that it would cover only a minor proportion of the costs should contribute to the upholding of high standards, as the employer and its employees have a common interest in ensuring that the employer's resources are well spent. An annual joint evaluation of its effects should also be made by the government and both sides of industry.

Joint statement by employers and trade unions

Apart from this subsidy, the working party also suggests tax concessions for skills development purposes, as well as a system of personal educational accounts for employees.

The report ends by stating that a tripartite agreement on skills development could be concluded as soon as the government presents a viable funding proposal and a definite date for its implementation. Both sides of industry are disappointed at the delay, and for once the Swedish Employers' Confederation (Svenska Arbetsgivareföreningen, SAF) and all three trade union confederations have presented a joint statement urging the government to act. The government's budget bill for 1999 presented on 13 October 1998 contained no concrete proposals, only a promise that the government intends to present a proposal during 1999. However, the bill states that "a prerequisite for the introduction of a state subsidy is that the labour market organisations should contribute to its funding."

Commentary

It is hard to judge why the government has still not fulfilled the expectations that it held out when it invited employers and trade unions to talks. Of course, the answer may be very simple. The government may simply believe that there is not enough finance for the project at present. On the other hand, what can be afforded is a matter of how priorities are defined, and the government has repeatedly stressed that skills development is of vital importance for the promotion of growth and employment, which is the primary aim of its policy. Thus, there is reason to ask if the answer is more complex, and if it is seeking to put pressure on the labour market organisations to make further commitments to each other - perhaps even in other fields.

For example: there is a committee charged with the task of proposing legislative measures related to the bargaining procedure, comprising mechanisms that prevent inflationary pay increases which put employment at risk (SE9704111F). The government has, however, clearly stated that it prefers an agreement in principle between the labour market organisations to legislation. The issue of skills development could be one ingredient in the negotiations on such an agreement. (Kerstin Ahlberg, Arbetslivsinstitutet)