In Focus
Swedish assistant nurses want higher status through legal recognition
Assistant nurse is one of the most common professions in Sweden. 180 000 out of a total of 200 000 workers in elderly care are assistant nurses, but unlike their other Nordic colleagues, their profession is not regulated. Making this happen has long been a trade union demand and right now legislation is being prepared which might give them a protected title.
A Monday in the service of the Nordics
Paula Lehtomäki heads the secretariat for the Nordic governments’ official body of cooperation. Yet she has no lifeguards, she cycles to work and gets on the train to open a conference.
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ vision for 2030
“Now the work begins for real,” says Helle Engslund Krarup, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Secretary General’s office. At the end of an intensive process, the Nordic cooperation has a new vision. But how to execute it, and what must give in order to reach the goals within the same budget? The first answers will come in early February.
Iceland: Paternity leave a boost to men’s identity
The Nordic Gender Effect at Work is one of the Nordic prime ministers’ most important projects for the advancement of gender equality. It is considered to be an important prerequisite for a good labour market and for economic growth.
New profile leaves Nordic traces around the world
The Nordic Region is attractive, with its 27 million citizens over five countries living in peaceful coexistence. We are far from perfect, but perhaps that is what makes us fascinating. The Nordic Council of Ministers tries to look after all this by creating a Nordic brand.
The Nordics: practical and industrious cooperation
At an arrival halls café at Reykjavik airport, researchers Kristin Alsos and Jon Erik Dølvik are sat working. They are waiting for the rest of the group arriving from different Nordic countries before sharing a taxi to Hveragerði, an hour from Keflavik.
"More hard issues should be discussed at the Nordic Council"
Protect democracy, fight fake news and protect biological diversity. These are issues on the agenda for Iceland’s 2020 Presidency of the Nordic Council. Another focus area is to improve knowledge of Nordic languages.
Inspired by TED Talks: Nordic podcast launch in the USA
Nordic Talks is the Nordic Council of Ministers’s own podcast series aimed at highlighting Nordic values to a global audience. The idea is also to create a lasting dialogue with the rest of the world.
Malmö: Police officers are also vulnerable
“When you come home with a black eye after being hit, you are a human being first,” says Malmö’s police chief with ten years frontline experience into the city. Thinking police are trained to deal with the worst possible situations, or even prepared to die, is to put too much belief in a human being’s capability, he says.
Fundamental misinterpretation led to Norwegian legal scandal
It has been called Norway’s worst ever miscarriage of justice. Thousands of people were accused of cheating the benefits system when accepting unemployment allowance and other support while living abroad. It then turned out it was never illegal – as long as it happened within the EEA.
Danish welfare agency wide open for fraudster
Should an employee get a lesser sentence if it is easy to steal from the employer? This issue is currently being debated in the criminal case brought against Danish Britta Nielsen, who stole more than 100 million kroner (over €13m) from her employer, the Danish National Board of Social Services. The money had been allocated to disadvantaged citizens.
Trust in Statistics Sweden hit after incorrect unemployment figures
Swedish unemployment statistics for the past year have been revised. A subcontractor provided numbers that turned out to be wrong, and is now accused of cheating.
Sweden – more generous than what EU law demands
For many years, Swedish authorities considered it to be people’s right to take their so-called guaranteed pension (garantipension) with them if they moved abroad. Yet, a couple of years ago, the EU Court of Justice made it clear that Sweden was not at all obliged to pay the guaranteed pension to people living in other countries.
The transnationals – when one country is not enough
“More and more people chose to be transnational. They don’t want to live in just one of two countries, but in both. This might not be a huge number of people, but they do represent a challenge for national welfare systems,” says Jørgen Carling. He has spent several years leading a research project looking at the phenomenon at Prio.
Angela Davis in Reykjavik: We must see the structural powers that support the violence
“If we don’t challenge the structures in society, we risk getting into a situation where we end up fighting for women’s rights to be as violent as men,” warned Angela Davis when she addressed the large #metoo conference in Reykjavik on 17-19 September.
The male role in Finland is changing
One ended up in prison for refusing to do his military service. Another did his military service and ended up working for the armed forces. Today both are on the board of the new feminist association for men, saying they have a lot to learn from the Finnish women’s movement.
Sweden to strengthen preventative work against discrimination
Many employers are not aware that they must work on active measures to promote equal rights and opportunities for their employees. So says the Swedish government, which has appointed a commissioner tasked with coming up with proposals for how to make the monitoring of the discrimination act more effective.
How have the Nordic countries reacted to #metoo?
The Nordic countries have put the questions raised by the metoo-movement high on the agenda, not only for the ministers of gender equality, but for all ministers.
Alarm bells ring after many fatal workplace accidents in Sweden
Men working high up in construction and men loading and unloading trucks. Two risk-filled jobs that have claimed lives 2019 in Sweden. But the initial increase in fatal accidents earlier in 2019 has subsided. 44 persons died, which is 11 less than the year before.
Finnish safety training park makes workplace risks more visible
Everyone should return home in the evening. That is the motto for construction workers. But you need more than theoretical knowledge in order to eliminate the risks of accidents. Like bringing routines closer to people’s hearts. A visit to a safety training park speeds things up.
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