Working Paper No. 176. Industrial action in Sweden – a new pattern?
Lindberg, H. (2011). Industrial action in Sweden – a new pattern? Ratio Working Paper No. 176.
Lindberg, H. (2011). Industrial action in Sweden – a new pattern? Ratio Working Paper No. 176.
The paper studies the modern conflict patterns and conflict dimensions in Sweden 1993-2005. The aim is to trace and interpret the new patterns and dimensions of labour market conflict by collecting and compiling strike data from the National Conciliation Office, (1993-99) and the National Mediation Office (2000-2005). On the whole, strike activity has decreased steadily from the 1980s and onwards and in large parts of the Swedish labour market conflicts are very rare. A few small un-ions organising primarily non-manufacturing working class in the domestic sector, account for the majority of the sanctioned conflicts. The new pattern is that the re-maining conflicts in broad terms can be divided in two parts: conflicts over wages and other working conditions and conflicts about the collective bargaining itself. Each with its own logic.
Related content: Industrial Action in Sweden: A New Pattern?
2021
Ratio Working Paper
The Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear that the labour market situation can change
extremely rapidly when there is an unexpected exogenous shock to the economy. Even
though the transformation of the labour market as a result of the development of ICT
(Information Communication Technology) industries facilitates more-flexible
conditions, it is now more important than ever for EU Member States to improve the
functioning of their labour markets. Member States need to increase possibilities for
training and retraining throughout peoples’ working lives in order to smooth the
transformation into a digital world of work.
2021
(Arbetsmarknadsprogrammet, rapport nr. 19) Stockholm: Ratio.
De finska arbetsgivarna inom Skogsindustrin och Teknologiindustrin, landets ledande exportsektorer, beslutade i oktober 2020 respektive mars 2021 att ensidigt säga upp kollektivavtalen på industrinivå för att åstadkomma lokala förhandlingar på företagsnivå direkt med medarbetarna. Ambitionen är att förändra finsk lönebildning för att åstadkomma ökad lokal flexibilitet och stärkt konkurrenskraft.
I rapporten, som baseras på intervjuer med partsföreträdare och experter samt tidigare forskning och medieuppgifter, beskrivs bakgrunden till arbetsgivarnas beslut, deras motiv, andra branschers reaktioner, de fackliga motparternas synsätt samt olika statliga regleringars betydelse för utvecklingen. Avslutningsvis diskuteras ett antal lärdomar för den svenska arbetsmarknadsmodellen.
Karlson, N. & Björklund, M. (2021). Den finska kollektivavtalsmodellen i stöpsleven. (Arbetsmarknadsprogrammet, rapport nr. 19) Stockholm: Ratio.
2020
Ratio Working Paper
This paper studies the perceived difficulty of recruiting scarce competences to rural regions. Furthermore, the role of policy in facilitating and enhancing recruitment to and better skills matching in rural regions is discussed. Based on a survey targeted to the business sections in Swedish municipalities, the results show that recruitment is perceived to be difficult in both rural and non-rural regions. However, recruitment problems in the public sector are more pronounced in rural municipalities. Nevertheless, recruitment to the public and business sectors are perceived to be equally difficult in rural regions. Both rural municipalities and non-rural municipalities state that the difficulty of recruiting the right skills results in a lack of skills matching and constitutes an obstacle to growth. Which policies can help remedy recruitment problems in rural regions? The pecuniary incentive of writing off student debt is perceived to be the most promising policy, but respondents also believe that non-pecuniary support such as relocation support for accompanying persons and tandem recruitment should be implemented to a greater extent. Finally, the need for flexibility and policies that can be adapted to the regional demand for labour are stressed. This regards for example the adaption of education programmes to local needs and rules and regulations.