Rarely have so many government ministers been present at a Nordic
labour ministers’ meeting, and rarely have discussions been so open.
It’s hard to say whether travelling far to an exotic destination with
plenty of time to debate particularly relevant issues had any influence
on the outcome, but she did achieve something.
“This has been one of the most fruitful meetings of labour ministers
organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers I have been part of during
the 15 years I have been Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of
Employment,” Denmark’s Bo Smith told Nordic Labour Journal.
Globalisation and difficult economic times challenge the Nordic
welfare states. The consequences of labour immigration was a central
issue during debates, along with gender equality. Sweden’s Minister for
Employment Hillevi Engström presented a newly established gender
equality commission which aims to fuel debate on issues like why there
are still wage gaps between the sexes, how to get more women into
leadership positions and how to reduce part time work among women.
Representatives from the social partners, the Council of Nordic Trade
Unions (NFS) and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) were
also present at the meeting. The red hot issue was youth
unemployment.
Finland’s Minister of Labour Lauri Ihalainen said reducing youth
unemployment was an issue close to his heart, his first priority as
Minister of Labour. Finland’s government launches a comprehensive
campaign this week in Finland’s fifteen largest cities aimed at helping
young people.
Iceland’s authorities are going to seek out every single youth who
is not in work or education in order to get them active, said political
advisor Anna Sigrún Baldursdóttir.
How much will job creation measures for weak groups cost, and which
measures work? Hanne Bjurstrøm would very much like to find the answers
to these questions. She got support from Denmark’s Bo Smith who
underlined this is also something which particularly engages Denmark’s
Minister for Employment.
“I would like to get invited to Denmark to discuss this
bilaterally,” said Hanne Bjurstrøm.
And this is the key in the Nordic cooperation: to share experiences
and learn from each other. Openly debating core challenges made the
Svalbard meeting particularly fruitful.
