In Focus
EU initiative will make circular products the new normal
Sustainable and circular products will be the new normal in EU markets. That is at least the idea behind the EU Commission’s initiative for a new circular economy action plan which is now being scrutinised by the EU decision-making machinery.
How donated textiles become new clothes
Fashion and textiles are environmental bad guys in terms of raw material production, work environments and pollution from processes to finished products and transport. There are many ideas for circular solutions in all parts of the chain, but it will take time to turn this big ship around.
Sustainability brings new Nordic retail jobs
Clas Ohlson is one of the companies striving to make a difference for the planet. It aims to be carbon neutral with a circular value chain by 2045 and is already underway.
Sustainability requirements at the Copenhagen Fashion Week
For the first time ever, the Nordics’ largest fashion week has implemented sustainability requirements for participating fashion brands. A new era, but the road to a sustainable fashion industry is long, says expert.
Nordic cooperation spans everyday and fateful issues
“The Nordic Council deals with everyday issues of concern to the Nordic citizens,” Erkki Tuomioja told the media just before opening the 74th session in Helsinki on 1 November in his role as the Council President. Yet never before has a session been so dominated by big, existential issues.
27 years since the last changes: Time to revise the Helsinki Treaty?
During its meeting in Helsinki in early November, the Nordic Council decided to call on the Nordic governments to start a “joint discussion with the Nordic Council about how the Nordic countries can better anchor the Nordic cooperation.” Or in other words: revise the Helsinki Treaty.
How unique is the Nordic Council?
How unique is the Nordic cooperation, with its Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers? The nearest European parallels are the Benelux Union and the Benelux Parliament. At least in one area they have taken cooperation even further. But while people in the Nordics call themselves nordbor, no one calls themselves Beneluxianian.
The labour ministers consider collective agreements' position in the Nordics
The Nordic governments should introduce a new kind of support where employers who sign up to collective agreements pay lower employer taxes for their employees. That was what Fafo researcher Jon Erik Dølvik proposed when he presented a report about collective agreements in the Nordics during the Nordic labour ministers’ meeting.
Sweden takes on Council of the EU presidency at times of turmoil
On 1 January 2023, Sweden takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the next six months. The presidency means looking after all of the member countries’ interests and leading the work with all the issues in the Council’s in tray – including major decisions on migration, climate and EU expansion.
Åland’s coding education attracts international talent
70 people of varying ages, from different countries and different student or occupational backgrounds, have started a joint journey in Åland. They have been accepted to the brand new grit:lab education where they will learn how to become creative computer coders – a skill which is sought-after nearly everywhere in the world.
Why Finnish nurses choose Norway over their native country
In the largest hall at the Messukeskus conference centre, Finnish DJ Darude springs a surprise tune. Sandstorm blasts out to an enthusiastic audience made up of nearly 2,000 nurses from the whole of Finland during the annual nurses' days in Helsinki.
Is foreign recruitment unethical?
Is it ethical to recruit staff from countries which also have labour shortages, for instance, the Philippines? It is not a sustainable alternative, especially when the most qualified are the ones who are the most likely to leave.
Nordic men face different challenges from women in non-traditional jobs
Young women training to join typically male-dominated occupations make difficult choices but are also spurred on by family, teachers and politicians and end up with a high-status job. But when young men choose healthcare jobs, they get neither status nor good pay.
The tough road to male occupations in Denmark
Amalie Schwartz is a newly qualified electrician and the only woman in a workplace with 80 people. She is busy changing that disparity every day at work and as an ambassador for the Boss Ladies project.
The Swedes studying on nearly full pay
Up to 80 % pay. That is how much adults in Sweden on permanent contracts can be paid if they want to study in order to improve their basic education or change careers. Applications started flowing in as soon as the new support scheme became available.
AI – threat or opportunity?
In a new report on artificial intelligence for worker management, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work warns against what could happen if the technology is misapplied in workplaces. At the same time, AI is considered crucial for digital green change both in the Nordics and the Baltics.
Danish businesses lack AI knowledge
Many Danish companies do not know how to use AI. Despite state AI development support, Danish businesses are lagging behind according to a Nordic report.
AI in recruitment – a double-edged sword?
More and more businesses use AI – artificial intelligence – in recruitment. Is this new technology an efficient tool to find the best-suited candidate and to increase the inclusion of marginalised groups? The first study into this gave unexpected results.
Iceland's record-breaking parental leave "not perfect"
Iceland's parliament passed a new law on parents’ leave in 2021 giving each parent at least six months off – the longest paternity leave in the Nordics. Yet only six weeks can now be split between them, a big change from earlier when parents could split far more time between them. Usually the mother took the entire leave that could be split.
Dads on equal footing with mums in Denmark’s new parental leave law
More gender equality in the labour market and more fathers on leave with small children. This is what Danish families can now look forward to after the government has given fathers nine extra weeks of earmarked paternity leave.
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