“It’s modern slavery what’s happening on the roads,”
says truck driver Freddy Welle in Sweden. He wants to fight for a
minimum wage and a level playing field to stop social dumping and the
exploitation of drivers, which is rife in his trade today. Yet
Transport is the only trade union in Sweden which wants a minimum wage.
The rest of the movement, led by the Swedish Confederation of Trade
Unions, is opposed because it sees a minimum wage as a threat to the
present collective agreement model. “We have to face the music” says
Sorgenfrey. She believes the debate is important in order to make
everybody aware of the strengths of the Nordic collective agreement
system.
In Europe the debate is intensifying and could be on
the agenda during the European Trade Union Confederation’s autumn
congress. There are many arguments; many EU countries have introduced a
statutory minimum wage this year, including Germany, where three to
four million workers have got a pay rise as a result. But how far can
Europe go when the minimum wage varies from €1.04 in Bulgaria to
Luxembourg’s €11.10? What are the consequences for the Nordic
countries, where even the lowest wages reached through collective
agreements are higher than that? And can a minimum wage threaten trade
union membership figures? The alternative could be to combine
collective negotiations and a minimum wage.
Several models might be considered. Many Nordic
countries look to Norway where universally applicable collective
agreements have become a key tool to secure minimum wages. The model
builds on collective negotiations which determine a pay standard within
a trade. The system is now so popular that it is spreading to more
trades all the time.
Yet opinions are divided. MEP Ulla Tørnes from
Denmark’s Liberal Party supports neither the Norwegian model nor a
statutory minimum wage. “We are better served with the Nordic agreement
model where the social partners negotiate wages and working conditions
with no political interference,” she says.
Afraid of the debate? Bente Sorgenfrey has brought
it to the Nordic table. She believes Nordic trade unions cannot hide
from what is happening in the rest of Europe.
Sweden’s Transport union believes a statutory
minimum wage is an alternative protection against social dumping and
appalling working conditions. Start talking about it, says the leader
of the Council of Nordic Trade Unions. Will the trade union movement
join in the debate?
