Labour Market — Nordic Labour Journal

Editorial: New ways of working challenges the social contract

(Jun 20, 2016) “Do your duty, claim your right” describes the relationship between the individual and society. As more work becomes platform-based and cut into little pieces, the basis for taxes could be depleted, and the social contract broken.

”Trade unions must organise people working though platforms”

(Jun 20, 2016) The sharing economy represents a challenge to the labour market as we know it. In the face of this development, the Swedish trade union Unionen has just entered an agreement with German IG Metall. The aim is to find tools for how to organise the growing part of the labour force which works through online platforms.

Poul Nielson: Introduce mandatory adult education and further training in the Nordics

(Jun 14, 2016) The five Nordic countries should make adult education and further training a mandatory element of the labour market, and introduce real cooperation on migration. These are central issues to secure the Nordic labour market model for future years, recommends a new report from the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Carola Lemne: Optimist on behalf of Swedish businesses

(Mar 22, 2016) Carola Lemne is first among equals at The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and spokeswoman for 60,000 small and large companies. Her recipe for better inclusion of newly arrived people into work is cutting costs for employers. Lower pay and lower tax leave both employers and employees better off.

Anniken Hauglie is Norway’s new Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

(Dec 17, 2015) Prime Minister Erna Solberg changed party colours at one of the most important ministries when Norway got a new Minister of Labour and Social Affairs - Anniken Hauglie from the Conservative Party.

Refugees - burden or resource?

(Nov 27, 2015) Refugees’ chances of getting to the Nordic countries have been dramatically reduced. Before the tightening of rules, more than 170,000 people applied for asylum in a Nordic country. Even if nany of the new arrivals will be turned down, the region will still get a solid boost of labour. Can refugees be included in working life without lowering wages and risking the creation of a new economic underclass?

What happens when the refugee stream has been stemmed?

(Nov 27, 2015) “It’s like on a plane when the oxygen masks have been activated. When you’re told to put on your own mask before helping people sitting next to you. If we are to help the world, we must look after our own country first,” says Jøran Kallmyr, State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Justice.

Researcher: ”Lowering the minimum wage creates a new underclass”

(Nov 27, 2015) There is agreement on one thing when it comes to refugees — the many newly arrived must be integrated into their new societies. They need accommodation, language skills and jobs. The Nordic cooperation could do with sharing experiences for how to achieve that.

Entrepreneurs with a clear message about refugees

(Nov 27, 2015) Finland has been caught unprepared by a flow of refugees the size of which the country has not experienced since World War II and the evacuation of Finnish Karelia. Many private individuals have been willing to help look after the new arrivals by offering food, clothes and accommodation. And now entrepreneurs are starting to turn up at refugee centres.

Marginalised youths on the labour ministers’ agenda

(Nov 27, 2015) “No youths should be left to their own devices for longer periods of time,” Danish Noemi Katznelson told Nordic labour ministers when she presented her latest research in Copenhagen recently. Marginalised youths and work were the themes for discussion between the ministers and the social partners, with a focus on preventative measures against unemployment.

Refugees leaving their mark

(Oct 23, 2015) “I don’t believe anyone in any government office fails to think about refugees,” says the new Director for the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) Sigrun Vågeng in the Portrait. The numbers arriving to the Nordics have broken all predictions and colour societies and their public debate.

Norway: Government to strengthen measures aimed at youths

(Oct 17, 2015) Unemployment is growing in Norway, especially among young people. The government’s 2016 budget proposal includes a youth package aimed at preventing more young people from falling outside of education and working life.

OECD: Big increase in number of foreign born doctors and nurses

(Sep 29, 2015) Over the past ten years the number of nurses and doctors who have moved to one of the 38 OECD countries has risen by 60 percent. The number of foreign born doctors now makes up nearly one third of all doctors in Sweden and one in four doctors in Norway.

New Danish government: A new and challenging course for Danish labour market politics

(Jun 22, 2015) Denmark’s new centre-right government faces the hard task of reforming the country’s unemployment benefit model.

Former EU Commissioner Poul Nielson: The Nordic region plays a role

(Jun 22, 2015) “The Nordic region is not an island in the global society. If we want to protect what we care about and make sure we are not overrun by the values of others, we need to enter that fight,” Poul Nielson tells the Nordic Labour Journal.

Labour market and gender: tough challenges for Finland’s new government

(Jun 12, 2015) Negotiations to form a new government in Finland are over and the new government ministers in the three party coalition are ready to start the job of lifting the country out of the economic crisis. For the past ten years there has been plenty of political activity but the results have not materialised. Labour market reform is one of the most difficult issues.

Nordics: Surprisingly many struggle with literacy and numeracy

(May 21, 2015) The challenge facing politicians is helping two million adults who lack the necessary skills for working and social life to secure a chance to develop, says Anders Rosdahl. He is a senior research fellow at the Danish National Centre for Social Research, and the Danish representative in the network which has just presented the Nordic PIAAC report.

New comparative Nordic research measures adult competencies

(May 21, 2015) For the first time ever there is a Nordic version of the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, PIAAC. PIAAC was first published in 2013. The survey comprises comparative data from 24 countries.

Experts propose a more labour targeted and user friendly NAV

(Apr 15, 2015) One year has passed since Norway’s Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Robert Eriksson appointed the Expert group tasked with undertaking a comprehensive review of the Labour and Welfare Administration NAV under the motto ‘From bureaucratic reform to user reform’. Now the report is ready: ‘A NAV with possibilities.’

Finland: Unemployed youths get more attention

(Mar 19, 2015) Finland’s youth guarantee means young people have become a higher priority within the public sector.