The stated aim of the book is to introduce Swedish historical
research on this topic to an international readership, to integrate
this research into international discourse and to stimulate new
research within the field.The book consists of nine articles covering a
range of occupational safety and health (OSH) issues.
Describing work life from an OSH perspective is an interesting
approach, and the book is a valuable contribution to the field of work
research. I would like to concentrate my comments on the discussion of
industrial work and OSH, as covered in the first three
articles.
The topic is first described through the eyes of proletarian
writers.This is followed by an historical analysis of the development
of OSH issues in Swedish work life, using the iron and steel industry
as an example case.The subject is further elaborated by a discussion of
the silicosis problem in the Swedish iron and steel industry.
The book discusses regulatory and organisational structures that
influence the slowly changing state of OSH in the Swedish iron and
steel industry. I would like to point out some discrepancies between
the two countries, Sweden and Norway, with regard to work life and work
environment issues in the industrial sector. The book describes how the
Swedish industrial relations model was based on the logic of regulation
which did not always fit the structural relations characterising the
iron and steel industry.
The Swedish model (as the Norwegian model) is based on tripartite
co-operation between organised parties in the labour market and the
government.This logic of regulation assumes that social partners have
equal bargaining power, representing well organised interests of labour
and capital.Within this logic, OSH issues would be negotiated and
settled in collective agreements. The book states that the historical
conditions for the local parties to act as organised and independent
parties can vary greatly.
The Swedish iron and steel industry has a history of paternalism and
dependence. The workers were beholden to the employer for their
livelihood, and the book seems to indicate a strong relationship of
subordination that extends into both everyday life and the workplace.
The example of silicosis (a lung disease caused by inhaling quartz
dust) also demonstrates how the handling of OSH problems can pitch
groups of workers against other groups of workers, so that it is not
only a subject of labour-management conflict.
Many of the factors which influence the efforts concentrating on
improving working conditions in Swedish industry, apply to the
Norwegian industrial sector as well. One significant factor missing
from Norwegian industry, is the regional aspect. Sociological studies
of industrial communities in Norway (e.g. the Årdal studies –
Årdalsprosjektet) during the early 1970s identified some concepts which
appear irrelevant to Swedish ironworks communities, as described in the
book. The Årdal studies described the typical ironwork community as a
one-generation community (én-generasjonssamfunnet). Natural resources
were the deciding factor in localisation, and energy (waterfalls) and
transportation (deep harbours) were the main prerequisites.This lead to
the establishment of communities in isolated places, where the workers
had to be “imported” to man the industrial plant. The management in the
industrial plants also comprised mainly employees from companies
outside the area (often outside Norway).This situation may have made
for a more professional relationship between workers and management, as
demonstrated in a long history of class struggle and management- labour
conflicts.
Because workers moved to the communities solely in order to work at
the factories, they were not so bound to the paternalistic ties between
employer and employees established through a shared geographic and
cultural history, than is indicated in the Swedish articles. I would
like to raise the question of whether industrial relations, seen as
negotiations between organised and independent parties, have
historically occupied a stronger position in Norway as a result of this
demographical difference.
The book can be seen as a valuable contribution to the research on
the development of production, work and work processes, and their
social implications. By attempting a simple comparison with Norwegian
conditions, I would like to suggest that this issue might be worth
further attention within the shared Nordic discourse on working
life.
