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Social Partners

Articles on the Social Partners.

Loa Brynjulfsdottir wants to defend the collective agreement model

Loa Brynjulfsdottir wants to defend the collective agreement model

Loa Brynjulfsdottir is the new general secretary at the Council of Nordic Trade Unions, NFS. Her top priority is to further defend the Nordic collective agreement model. It is under pressure from the more regulations-based way in which labour market issues are dealt with within the EU.

Loa Brynjulfsdottir wants to defend the collective agreement model - Read More…

British unions on the warpath

British unions on the warpath

"This is just the beginning," said union leader Len McCluskey when nearly two million public sector workers joined the UK's largest strike in 30 years. On 30 November schools, hospitals, docks and airports were hit.

British unions on the warpath - Read More…

Trade unions and a new spirit of the times

Trade unions and a new spirit of the times

Inspired by the Arab spring, protesters have been occupying streets and squares in the USA and in Europe. They have highlighted the big gap between the richest one percent and everybody else, even in Western countries. The Nordic region enjoys long traditions of cooperation on how social and working life should develop. But Nordic trade unions are loosing supporters. This could threaten their legitimacy and shift the balance which the Nordic model is based on.

Trade unions and a new spirit of the times - Read More…

Getting closer to members could secure union survival

Nordic trade unions must get closer to their members and provide a better service at a lower price. If not the Nordic labour market model will die, warn labour market experts.

Getting closer to members could secure union survival - Read More…

”Change or die” - mobilising and modernising unions

”Change or die” - mobilising and modernising unions

From 2007 to 2011 Swedish trade unions lost 273,000 members. Worst hit was the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the lowest numbers of union membership was found among young people and people of foreign heritage. But unions are not passively watching the fall in membership numbers - on the contrary, they are mobilising to reach old and new members.

”Change or die” - mobilising and modernising unions - Read More…

How do the unions handle the new debate on salary gaps?

How do the unions handle the new debate on salary gaps?

Over the past decade the number of working days lost due to labour conflicts has been very low. Illegal industrial action has nearly disappeared altogether. Meanwhile the pay gap has widened considerably. But now there is fresh disquiet. How do unions deal with these new times?

How do the unions handle the new debate on salary gaps? - Read More…

Welfare state and social partners’ cooperation

Welfare state and social partners’ cooperation

Cooperation with the social partners is central when politicians in Norway and Denmark sit down to write new political programmes - be it Denmark’s new government programme or the programme for Norway’s 2012 presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Welfare state and social partners’ cooperation - Read More…

Collective bargaining under pressure as union membership plummets

Danes - especially young men - abandon trade unions with record speed new figures show. Experts believe it can undermine the social partners’ self regulation - the so-called flexicurity model.

Collective bargaining under pressure as union membership plummets - Read More…

New Norwegian drive to find jobs for people with impaired work abilities

New Norwegian drive to find jobs for people with impaired work abilities

Organisations for people with disabilities along with the social partners didn’t hold back their praise when Norway’s Minister for Labour Hanne Bjurstrøm and Minister for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion Audun Lysbakken presented their ‘Job strategy for people with impaired work ability‘ during the presentation of Norway’s 2012 budget on 6 October.

New Norwegian drive to find jobs for people with impaired work abilities - Read More…

Finland hunts for a new salary model

Finland’s social partners are desperately looking for a new negotiation model. Or rather: the trade unions are trying their hardest to convince employers that a 40 year old labour market institution is still relevant.

Finland hunts for a new salary model - Read More…

TCO's Eva Nordmark: unions must be relevant to our time

TCO's Eva Nordmark: unions must be relevant to our time

"The union's role is to be relevant in today's working life, which is considerably different from the time when my parents started working. Yet the basic values remain the same. As always the union is about the dream of freedom, development and having the chance to live a good life," says Eva Nordmark, newly elected chairperson for TCO.

TCO's Eva Nordmark: unions must be relevant to our time - Read More…

EU directive on temporary agency work could reduce social dumping

Trade unions believe the EU directive on temporary agency work will see fewer staffing agencies pushing down salaries and working conditions.

EU directive on temporary agency work could reduce social dumping - Read More…

Unique collective agreement for Sweden's staffing agencies

Staffing agencies in Sweden are experiencing a boom. In the last quarter of 2010 turnovers were up 42 percent on 2009 figures. Staffing agencies do however provoke conflicting feelings and staffing was one of the key themes during the latest collective bargaining process.

Unique collective agreement for Sweden's staffing agencies - Read More…

Temporary work agencies: misfits in Nordic working life?

This year will see the implementation of the EU directive on temporary agency work which is meant to improve labour mobility and facilitate the growth in temporary work agencies. It will also lay down demands for equal treatment of permanent staff and workers recruited through temporary work agencies.

Temporary work agencies: misfits in Nordic working life? - Read More…

The employers' voice in the European dialogue

The employers' voice in the European dialogue

Will the social partners reach agreement on the working time directive like they managed to come to an agreement on work-related stress? Initial talks have begun but nobody knows how it will end. The social dialogue is nevertheless playing a part in Europe's policy development.

The employers' voice in the European dialogue - Read More…

Time for transnational collective agreements?

This year workers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden will be told how many shares they have earned in the French corporation Suez S.A.

Time for transnational collective agreements? - Read More…

Curtain fall for the Laval case

Sweden's Supreme Court has refused to reverse the Swedish Labour Court's judgement in the Laval case. Now a labour law expert says the state should pay the considerable compensation which trade unions have been ordered to pay.

Curtain fall for the Laval case - Read More…

Dictates from politicians trigger crisis of trust

More and more important decisions are being made by politicians away from the parties to the labour market. Now experts fear a crisis of trust which will undermine the basis of the Danish model, which is based on negotiated agreements between state, employers and employees.

Dictates from politicians trigger crisis of trust - Read More…

Swedish Metall on trusting the adversary

Swedish Metall on trusting the adversary

"What you absolutely must not do during wage negotiations is to lie. You don't have to put all your cards on the table, but if you lie you loose all trust."

Swedish Metall on trusting the adversary - Read More…

EU Commission critical to Swedish laws

Sweden could be forced to change its rules on temporary employment after pressure from the European Commission. It has voiced doubts over whether Swedish laws comply with EU's fixed-term work directive (1999:70).

EU Commission critical to Swedish laws - Read More…

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Social Partners in Scandinavian

Danish: arbejdsmarkedets parter

Norwegian: arbeidsmarkedets parter

Swedish: arbetsmarknadens parter

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