Living and working in Sweden

During late 2022 and early 2023, many discussions on the resilience of the wage setting model were held. The Swedish wage setting model starts with wage negotiations in the industrial sector – that is, the export-dependent sector – after which other sectors negotiate their wage increases based on the same percentage rise across the economy.

There are still 56 collective agreements to be renegotiated in 2024, several in the regional and municipal sectors. Among them is one of the largest agreements, between the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) and the Swedish Municipal Workers Union, which covers about 1.2 million workers in sectors such as healthcare, education and care services. While the wage increases are likely to follow the results of 2023, there are some important demands by the union that may have wider impact, such as a 30-hour working week, an annual mapping of the use of temporary workers instead of hired personnel, and the ability to make exceptions to the rules on the 11-hour daily rest for shift workers.

Despite relative calm in the negotiation rounds, the year saw significant industrial action. In the spring, a wildcat strike broke out among local Stockholm train drivers in response to a decision to fire the train attendants and replace them with cameras. In the autumn, several trade unions threatened strikes against the tech companies Klarna and Spotify for not having collective agreements, and the union IF Metall went on strike against the car manufacturer Tesla for the same reason. The Tesla strike was still ongoing as of January 2024, with sympathy strikes from nine other Swedish unions, affecting postal services, garbage collection, loading and unloading of cars in ports, lacquering of cars, cleaning, and electrical services. The strike has also attracted sympathy strikes in Denmark, Norway and Finland, which is unusual. IF Metall says it will continue until the company signs a collective agreement. These developments could be an indicator that the unions are moving towards a more combative and active approach to securing coverage of collective bargaining.

The number of workplace accidents with fatal outcome reached the highest point since 2008. In December 2023, the worst workplace accident since 1994 happened at a construction site in Stockholm, where a construction elevator fell several stories and five people died. This incident and the high number of workplace fatalities sparked a debate about health and safety and criminal employment practices, which is likely to continue in 2024. The government announced that additional inspections will be carried out to prevent future accidents, although critics have noted that this promise was made without a corresponding increase in budget.

As 2024 opened, Sweden entered a recession following the pandemic, the inflation crisis, the war in Ukraine and interest rate increases. The National Institute of Economic Research (NIER) forecasts a deepening of this recession in early 2024, and slow recovery towards the end of the year. This means an increase in the unemployment rate, which is heading towards 8.5%. The government has labelled itself a coalition towing the ‘work line’, meaning it wants to incentivise as many as possible to find employment through a combination of lowering taxes on labour and for employers, as well as restricting economic support for those without work. How external factors interact with the government’s intentions to increase employment rates will likely be a discussion in 2024.