News — Nordic Labour Journal

Native language disappearing from Icelandic workplaces

(Oct 20, 2017) Iceland is experiencing enormous growth. Every year thousands of foreigners arrive to help Icelanders in the labour market. Tourism represents the largest area of growth, followed by the construction industry. The English language is increasingly being used within both trades. Many Icelanders are worried about the Icelandic language’s position in the multicultural society.

TBU at 50: Wage formation – the Norwegian model’s unique attribute

(Oct 05, 2017) The basis for the Norwegian version of the Nordic model is a shared understanding of reality before the parties begin wage negotiations. The result has been few conflicts and narrow pay gaps.

Icelandic continuing education: “Employees became more interested in their jobs"

(Sep 15, 2017) One in three adult Icelanders had no more than an elementary school education in the year 2000, and got no continuing education through their work. Since then, the social partners have developed a learning centre for further training of people with lower education levels. This has helped reduce the share of lower educated. It used to be 33 percent, now it is 25 percent of the low-educated workforce.

Agreement on what constitutes minimum rates of pay for construction workers in Sweden

(Sep 13, 2017) After nearly ten years of quarrelling, the Swedish trade union for construction workers (Byggnads) and their counterparts at the Swedish Construction Federation (BI) have agreed what the “minimum rates of pay” for constructions workers posted to Sweden should comprise. The parties think the same conditions should apply for public procurement of construction projects.

Erna Solberg heads for four more years as Norwegian Prime Minister

(Sep 12, 2017) Erna Solberg carries on as Norway’s Prime Minister, but with a weaker parliamentary mandate. The Labour Party was the looser in Monday’s election. The Centre Party gained the most ground, carried forward by rural areas protesting against what they see as a threat to municipal independence.

Challenging globalisation’s winners: The OECD wants to bridge the divides

(Jun 22, 2017) The OECD’s Stefano Scarpetta calls the new narrative a paradigm shift. We must change the ideas which have created an increasing gap between rich and poor, says Secretary-General Angel Gurría: Economic growth is not enough, we need a new vision for inclusive and sustainable development. The social dimension broke through clearly at the OECD Forum 2017.

Everybody wants to know about refugees’ skills

(Jun 22, 2017) While the Nordic countries tightened border controls and made it harder for refugees to seek asylum, they also changed their policies to help refugees get quicker access to the labour market. In Norway the asylum seekers can now register their skills by themselves.

Grete Brochmann on refugee policies: Nordics more coordinated now

(Jun 22, 2017) The Nordic countries are more coordinated now than they were during the major influx of refugees in 2015, believes Grete Brochmann. She has led the two latest inquiries into immigration to Norway.

Swedish port conflict could lead to change in legislation

(Jun 21, 2017) A long-running conflict in the port of Gothenburg has made the Swedish government consider changes in regulations covering industrial action. The reason the conflict has lasted for so long is a seemingly unsolvable fight for positions between two trade unions which both represent dockworkers.

The platform economy: How to regulate working life when algorithms are the boss?

(May 26, 2017) Regulation is a key word when the Nordic countries discuss the platform economy. The challenge is to secure good working conditions for the individual, a level playing field for businesses and tax revenues for the state.

Denmark’s second largest city explores the sharing economy

(May 24, 2017) Citizens of Aarhus municipality can move around in shared electric cars and cultivate the soil in new city gardens on municipal land. The government has designated the municipality as a pilot city for the sharing economy, and a range of activities are already up and running.

Nordics and Baltics agree on digital development

(May 02, 2017) Big numbers were presented during the Digital North conference in Oslo on 25 April, where digitalisation ministers from the Nordic and Baltic countries signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement. Digitalisation can create 500,000 new jobs in Europe, and the new 5G networks which are already being rolled out in the Nordic region are 100,000 faster that the first ever mobile network was 20 years ago.

Micro-management a threat to Nordic labour market models

(Apr 06, 2017) There is a need for an institutionalised exchange of ideas between the Nordic countries on labour market issues, believes Oxford Research, which has compared labour market politics in the Nordic countries. They also encourage politicians to avoid micro-management and to trust those who work with these issues.

Robotisation and Mercedes bring a thousand new jobs to Finland

(Apr 06, 2017) Suddenly Finland is about to become known as a car making nation. There is already talk about “the west coast miracle”. Valmet Automotive is recruiting one thousand new car workers in addition to the ones they already employ. More and more Mercedes models are being ordered from their Uusikaupunki car plant, which is growing at record speed.

International campaign needed to fight ruthless staffing agencies

(Apr 04, 2017) Two new international agreements trying to improve conditions for workers in the construction and textile industries, as well as oil workers' more traditional but still difficult trade union fight. Those were the issues up for debate during a Fafo seminar in Oslo on globalisation, precarious work and trust.