News
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What do border obstacles cost the Nordic region?
Is it possible to calculate how much the Nordic countries are loosing because of the many remaining border obstacles affecting the labour market? According to Copenhagen Economics no border obstacles would mean 3,000 to 6,000 more cross-border commuters. If all of them came out of unemployment it would save 4.2bn Danish kroner (€56m).
3 minutes
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British unions on the warpath
“This is just the beginning,” said union leader Len McCluskey when nearly two million public sector workers joined the UK’s largest strike in 30 years. On 30 November schools, hospitals, docks and airports were hit.
7 minutes
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Collective bargaining under pressure as union membership plummets
Danes – especially young men – abandon trade unions with record speed new figures show. Experts believe it can undermine the social partners’ self regulation – the so-called flexicurity model.
3 minutes -
Nordic border obstacles higher on the political agenda
Denmark’s new government has talked about it, the Finnish presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers has done something about it and when Norway takes over the presidency there will be increased attention from the Nordic prime ministers, Nordic parliamentarians and not least the responsible ministers. All wish to improve free movement within the Nordic…
5 minutes -
Iceland’s road to recovery
Iceland has managed surprisingly well after the economic collapse of autumn 2008. Iceland’s government and the International Monetary Fund has staged a conference on Iceland’s road to recovery in Reykjavik.
7 minutes
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New Norwegian drive to find jobs for people with impaired work abilities
Organisations for people with disabilities along with the social partners didn’t hold back their praise when Norway’s Minister for Labour Hanne Bjurstrøm and Minister for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion Audun Lysbakken presented their ‘Job strategy for people with impaired work ability‘ during the presentation of Norway’s 2012 budget on 6 October.
9 minutes
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SCB has surveyed the unemployed for 50 years
There are 4.5 million people in employment in Sweden – one million more than 50 years ago. That is one conclusion to be drawn from Statistics Sweden’s (SCB) monthly labour market figures delivered over the past 50 years. SCB’s labour surveys, known as AKU, have helped politicians, economists, journalists and other decision makers to get…
5 minutes -
Helle Thorning-Schmidt: Danes must work more
More people must work more, productivity must increase and salaries will freeze. These are central elements to Denmark’s new centre-left government’s labour market policy, which has been relatively well received by both employers’ and workers’ organisations.
5 minutes -
Riots highlight Manchester’s unemployed underclass
What made hundreds of youths run amok in Manchester and other UK cities in August? Debate has been fierce in the weeks following riots that cost five lives and millions of pounds in damages. The political right blames a moral collapse, the left blames budget cuts and social deprivation. In Manchester the riots have led…
7 minutes
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Finland hunts for a new salary model
Finland’s social partners are desperately looking for a new negotiation model. Or rather: the trade unions are trying their hardest to convince employers that a 40 year old labour market institution is still relevant.
4 minutes