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What happened?
Negotiations between the Workers’ LO, the Wage Workers’ PTK and the Swedish Employers’ Confederation on a new agreement for 2.8 million private and salaried workers failed on 30 September. Instead, what would have been a landmark agreement led to intense political debate, which could end in a government crisis.
Now the parties, who are in the midst of a hot wage move, agree to give negotiations a second chance. The first meeting will be tomorrow Thursday.
What must the parties resolve now?
The negotiations have three parts: job protection, adjustment / higher education and a new unemployment insurance. When it comes to helping people who lose their jobs get a new job or education, according to DN sources, there is already a lot of agreement. The parties also have a consensus on taking responsibility for new unemployment insurance, but this requires further investigation. In that case, there will be more than one statement of intent in the agreement.
The great battle has to do with job protection; what caused the collapse of the negotiations above all was the priority issue. Here the parties are far apart. Employers want more exceptions to the “last in is first out” rule of employment protection law, read, but also make it easier and cheaper to fire people.
“Now he gives us a new opportunity, now is the time for us to seriously look at each other’s letters,” says a LO source with good information on DN before tomorrow’s negotiation. LO wants to eliminate what is called a general fixed term, wants to improve the conditions of those who are hired by the companies and limit the “planning”. It means that the employer reduces working hours and thus wages for many rather than laying off a smaller number.
will this work?
Hard to say. Even when the negotiations failed, everyone involved said they had “pushed all the issues to the bottom.” It was not a lack of time that crashed the negotiations, there was a deep disagreement on a number of key issues.
At the same time, the hope remains to continue the Swedish model, in which the parties decide the important issues of the Swedish labor market, with politicians at a distance. It has become clear to both unions and employers that there is strong political will to push for changes in the law.
Besides this, there are also different opinions within the parties. Different unions prioritize different issues. If the parties agree, the agreement must be adopted by LO’s supervisory board and obtain a yes from at least 60 percent of the delegates.
Even within the Confederation of Swedish Companies, there are different opinions among members. One opinion is that negotiations are not needed, there is already a state consultation that proposes labor law regulations and is in consultation until the end of the month.
Read more:
The Las negotiations could be a historic milestone or a failure
“If the parties lose power, the question arises: why should I join the union?”
