In Focus
What solidarity? Minimum wages split Nordic and EU unions
The disagreement over the EU’s proposed directive on statutory minimum wages throws the issue of solidarity into focus. But it also highlights the alienation and poor pay and conditions found across many sectors in Europe.
Six MEPs' views on statutory minimum wages
The proposed directive on statutory minimum wages has still not been through the European Parliament. But just over one year ago, with a clear 422-131 majority, it called on the Commission to present a proposal to secure a fair minimum wage for all workers in the Union.
Four researchers' take on the minimum wage
A positive move for low-income earners in Europe or the hollowing out of the Nordic collective agreement model? When researchers look at the EU’s proposed directive on statutory minimum wages, the analysis changes according to the area of research and perspectives.
Jon Erik Dølvik: Stored demand could help create jobs
The largest research project ever to be financed by the employment ministers at the Nordic Council of Ministers was about to conclude just as the Corona pandemic hit. How will the pandemic and the economic crisis in its wake impact on the advice the researchers will give on the future of work?
Nordic labour law must face the future
Is Nordic labour law ready to face the future of work? New technology and ways of working are already putting pressure on established structures, but experts believe there is light at the end of the tunnel.
17 types of employment – and the rest
The Nordics have not become a region of freelancers, but there is a growing multitude of different forms of labour. The Corona pandemic has also made life for people with non-standard work even more precarious, confirmed experts at a Nordic conference on the future of work.
Future of work: Is there space for people with disabilities?
There is no lack of technology to help people with disabilities enter the labour market. The main obstacle remains attitudes among employers and in society as a whole. More than a quick fix is needed to move beyond this.
New challenges for work environments as technology and humans come together
The work environment of the future will be here sooner than we think, and it will be different from the one labour inspection authorities have been monitoring until now. A new Nordic report considers some threats that look like science fiction. Others are already a reality for many workers, yet we know little about these threats’ long-term effects.
Video conferences – from added bonus to necessity
You need more than Zoom or Teams. That has become obvious to many businesses as the pandemic has forced most meetings online. As people are getting used to the technology, newly gained experience becomes useful knowledge.
Extra power with robot gloves
The Stockholm-based company Bioservo marries medical research with new technology with their robot glove. It gives extra muscle power to people with reduced hand function and for those whose jobs put a strain on their hands. This summer they won NASA’s invention award.
Danish state pension reform aims to help worn-out workers
The Danish government believes people should have the right to retire early on a state pension if they have been working since they were teenagers. Trade unions are rejoicing while employers and others have their doubts.
I will work for as long as possible
64-year-old Jan Hansen has been working since he started out as an apprentice for a carpenter at 17. He has been through a knee operation and is waiting for another one, but does not long for the day he retires.
I should have retrained
60-year-old Lone Høgh has been on painkillers for years in order to handle her physically demanding agricultural job. She has now retired in order to enjoy her time with her husband and dog.
Finnish employers signal backtracking on wage agreements
Not all businesses can afford to pay the agreed wage increases in Finland, warns the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries. Yet the trade unions will not tear up any collective agreements. The corona crisis rises many questions for Finnish labour market politics. Some say Finland’s competitiveness could be under threat. Employers argue the Prime Minister’s vision for six-hour days makes matters worse.
Collective bargaining with face masks
Nordic employers and trade unions have spent spring and summer in collective bargaining efforts, except in Sweden where negotiations have been postponed until 1 October because of the corona pandemic. How has sharply rising unemployment impacted on the process? Will certain groups, who have been working even harder during the crisis, get their reward?
Hot spring and summer for Iceland’s collective bargaining
Iceland’s newly appointed state mediator Aðalsteinn Leifsson had no easy task when he started work on 1 April 2020. The corona pandemic had a brutal effect on Iceland’s economy. Challenging mediating tasks included wage negotiations for cabin crew, nurses and upper secondary school teachers.
The Öresund Bridge is 20, and gets a sub-sea equivalent
The bridge linking two Nordic countries is 20 years old this summer. The link has been important for the Öresund region’s development. It is also important for the massive project of securing a permanent link between Zealand and Germany.
"Like a Berlin Wall between Haparanda and Tornio"
When the border between Finland and Sweden closed, the entire common market for the whole of Tornedalen disappeared – goods, services, labour and culture. The hospitality and retail sectors are seriously affected. Those who have been furloughed or served notices are starting to fall into unemployment.
Closed borders trigger unemployment in Sweden
Sweden’s biggest cities have been the worst hit by the pandemic, and in particular Stockholm. Infection rates have remained low in Sweden's border areas, but municipalities there are struggling economically because the borders have closed.
Faroe Islands: Old recipes and new crises
An economic crisis from 1992, a salmon test from 2000 and an idea for a restaurant from 2013. These are some of the ingredients in the Faroese recipe for how the island society in the North Atlantic and its 52,000 inhabitants would come out out of the Corona crisis better than anyone. So far it has been a rather good recipe.
Document Actions
Follow us on Facebook
