In Focus
Home address stops Valgerður’s maternity pay
An Icelandic woman who lives in Iceland but works for an Oslo-based business experienced the cross border commuter’s nightmare. Despite contributing to Norway’s national insurance fund since 2003, she receives no maternity pay. She doesn’t even know who will pay the hospital bill for when she gave birth to her son. Neither Norway nor Iceland wants to pay.
All problems are solvable - but new obstacles often emerge faster than old ones are removed
Border obstacles are words which don’t really do the issue justice. Getting across borders is the least of Nordic citizens‘ problems - they’ve enjoyed a common labour market and passport-free travel since 1954.
The typical cross border commuter is Swedish
A new Statistics Sweden survey due to be published in May shows Nordic cross border commuting increased by 166 percent between 2001 and 2008. Swedes are most likely to work in neighbouring countries, and now 80 percent of Nordic citizens who commute to Denmark and Norway come from Sweden. Higher wages seem to be the biggest draw.
Commuters across Øresund: We feel both Danish and Swedish
Swedish Per Andreasson and his wife have spent the past five years commuting from their home in Sweden to jobs in Denmark. The couple feel they’re getting the best of both worlds.
Swedes cross-border commute to Denmark more than anyone
Thousands of people commute to Denmark from neighbouring countries to work - especially Swedes. But in times of crisis the number of cross-border commuters dwindles.
Commuting: Iceland's challenge and opportunity
Commuting is increasingly popular among Icelandic doctors, nurses and craftsmen. They are mainly commuting to Norway, but also to Sweden. Wage levels are important, but commuting from a small country like Iceland also means a chance to develop professionally.
Nordic women lose power despite Denmark’s new prime minister
The Nordic Labour Journal’s gender barometer shows equality between the sexes in top political and professional positions is falling in the Nordic region. Denmark gaining its first female prime minister with Helle Thorning-Schmidt does not make up for the fact that Finland has just got a male president and a male prime minister.
Danish gender equality shifting up a gear
Denmark’s new Minister for Gender Equality, Manu Sareen, promises to turbo charge gender equality. His main focus will to fight violence against women and a gender-divided labour market. He wants more women in top management and into board rooms.
More women rise to the top at Carlsberg
It’s looking bad for gender equality in Danish companies’ boardrooms and management. There is massive opposition to legally binding female quotas. Now one of Danish business’ old giants is taking voluntary action: from 2015 at least 40 percent of the elected members to the board of Carlsberg brewery will be women.
Women’s businesses mirror gender segregated labour market
There is strong political will in Sweden to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship and between 2007 and 2014 the centre-right government spent a total of 800m SEK (€90m) on supporting, developing and highlighting women’s enterprise. De-regulated public sector markets open up for new businesses, but there is a risk that Swedish businesses will mirror the Swedish labour market and end up being just as gender segregated.
Effective sanctions make Norway’s quota law a success
The law on quotas is the most efficient measure to improve the boardroom gender balance. “But the law should be followed up by effective sanctions and state measures which help stimulate the action.” That is the advice from head of research Mari Teigen to other countries looking to legislate for quotas on company boards.
Demand for more female board members as EU’s patience runs out
EU Commissioner Viviane Reding’s patience has ran out. European companies have failed to improve board room gender equality to a satisfactory degree. The European parliament has already voted to introduce quotas to secure at least 30 percent women board members by 2015 and 40 percent by 2020.
When commuting becomes an obstacle race
Border obstacles can be instant traps. But they can also emerge much later as you enter retirement or become unemployed. That’s how the Council of Nordic Trade Unions and the Nordic Association describe the problem in a letter to Sweden’s parliament. Similar letters have reached other Nordic parliaments as part of the more or less simultaneous cross-Nordic debate on border obstacles. Comprehensive work on mapping and finding solutions to Nordic border obstacles has just been completed. Politicians must now make decisions. These are not problems which only concern a small group of people who live along borders, or youths looking for work. Half a million Nordic citizens have either moved to another Nordic country or have been cross border commuting in the past ten years. Nordic Labour Journal takes a close look at the statistics and who the commuters really are.
Active old age and solidarity between generations
Never before has so many lived for so long and been so healthy into such old age. In a few years there will be far more centenarians and people who will live for 20 to 30 years past their retirement age. Is Europe ready?
Older people to be encouraged to work for longer
More people must be encouraged to work into older age and we should also be prepared to retrain or change professions or careers during our working lives. That was the message from Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt a few days before the ‘Northern Future Forum’ gathered nine European leaders in Stockholm.
Myths dominiate attitudes to older people in the workplace
The notion that older people take jobs from the young simply isn’t true. Axel Börsch-Supan, a director at the German Max Planck Institute, debunks the myths surrounding older people in work.
Flexitime key to a longer working life
People are interested in working for longer as long as they are allowed to adapt their jobs to fit their abilities. A new survey shows flexible work solutions increases interest in working for longer. In Finland the research is supported by real life experience.
Half of older Icelanders are still working
Older Icelanders enjoy working and do so for longer than other older people in the Nordic region, the Baltics and the UK. Being active in the labour market is highly valued among the Icelandic.
Young, middle-aged or old?
How old do you have to be to be considered old? What constitutes as old varies a lot between different European countries. That is also true for how countries react to the demographic development: Generally very few people think it is necessary to increase the retirement age during the coming two decades, according to the ‘Special Eurobarometer 378 Active Ageing’.
Just how many older workers are there? And do they want to work more?
When the EU made 2012 the year for active ageing and solidarity between generations, Eurostat was tasked with producing relevant statistics. “It could become commonplace for people to move into retirement while still having one or both of their parents alive”, is one of the thought-provoking conclusions.
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