Local government social partners agree new bargaining procedures
Published: 27 June 2000
On 14 April 2000, trade unions and employers in the various parts of local government - country councils, local authorities and parishes - concluded an agreement on new procedures in future pay bargaining rounds, effective from 1 May 2000. The parties state that the agreement will contribute to preserving the national economic balance in future pay agreements without any party having to resort to strikes or lock-outs.
In April 2000, the social partners in Swedish local government concluded an agreement on negotiating procedures in future collective bargaining rounds. The agreement includes regulations on timetables, mediation and industrial action.
On 14 April 2000, trade unions and employers in the various parts of local government - country councils, local authorities and parishes - concluded an agreement on new procedures in future pay bargaining rounds, effective from 1 May 2000. The parties state that the agreement will contribute to preserving the national economic balance in future pay agreements without any party having to resort to strikes or lock-outs.
On the employers' side, the agreement was signed by: the Federation of County Councils (Landstingsförbundet); the Swedish Association of Local Authorities (Kommunförbundet); and the Association of Swedish Parishes within the Church of Sweden (Svenska kyrkans Församlingsförbund). The trade union signatories represent about 1,100,000 employees. The individual unions involved were: the Municipal Workers' Union ( Svenska Kommunalarbetareförbundet, Kommunal); the Swedish Union of Local Government Officers (Svenska Kommunaltjänstemannaförbundet, SKTF); the Association of Professional and Management Staff (Ledarna); and the Swedish Association of Health Officers (Vårdförbundet). The rest of the trade unions organising in the sector were represented by: the Teachers' Cooperation Council (Lärarnas samverkansråd); the Negotiating Council in the Public Local Sectors (Offentliganställdas förhandlingsråd); and the University Graduates Alliance (Akademiker-alliansen).
The aim of the agreement is to create the best conditions possible to conduct central bargaining in local government over pay and conditions, leading to reasonable economic results. The parties also state in the agreement that they will all contribute to a well-functioning system of pay determination, in its turn leading to good growth, a high rate of employment and a low rate of unemployment. Negotiations should, as far as possible, be carried out with the aim of avoiding conflict. The market sector (and especially export business) plays a role in setting a pay norm and, when it is convenient, collective bargaining in sectors engaged in international competition should be concluded first if there are parallel negotiations going on in local government.
The agreement also states that an important basis for negotiations is to create a wage formation system that: is stable and focused on the long term; promotes development, effectiveness and quality in local public activities; and is concerned with issues of equal opportunities between men and women. Wage development should take place in coordination with wage developments in the surrounding world.
The new agreement contains practical regulations on timetables, mediation and industrial action during collective bargaining. Negotiations should start three months before an agreement expires. The mutual aim should be to finish the negotiations before the previous agreement expires. In the event of industrial action, notice shall be given to the other party and to a mediator appointed beforehand by both parties. The mediator's role will include a duty to postpone notified industrial actions for up to 14 days. From 1 June 2000, the Co-Determination Act (medbestämmandelagen) has been amended to create a new Mediation Authority to mediate in labour conflicts and work towards satisfactory pay determination (SE9912110F). By registering agreements on bargaining procedures - such as the new local government agreement - the bargaining parties in a sector may follow their own agreed rules instead of the statutory rules on mediation. It is believed that the parties themselves are best placed to agree how bargaining should be conducted.
The local government agreement is quite similar to an agreement concluded in 1997 in the private industry sector (SE9703110N). On 30 May 2000, a similar cooperation agreement was concluded in the central government sector, which employs some 240,000 workers (at the time of writing the text of the agreement was not yet available).
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2000), Local government social partners agree new bargaining procedures, article.
