Nordic hunt for solutions to youth unemployment

26 good examples of measures that work and 600 people wanting to discuss youth unemployment. That was the impressive effort at the meeting of Nordic prime ministers and labour ministers in Stockholm on 16 May. The Nordic Labour Journal was there and this edition focuses on youth outside of the labour market.

May 22, 2013 | Photo: Björn Lindahl

Karen Bøhle Aarhus from Norwegian JobbX explains to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and his Danish colleague Helle Thorning-Schmidt how Fardin Abdullah (right) went from having no job to having four.

Editorial:

Latest news: Avoiding change-induced stress in the workplace (May 22, 2013) Changes are common in Nordic workplaces, and the social partners in Denmark are now joining forces to prevent this from causing stress.; New government in Iceland (May 22, 2013) Iceland has a new government. It has announced a stop to EU membership negotiations to allow time to decide whether negotiations will continue at all. It is still unclear when a referendum on EU membership will take place.; ILO critical of Sweden’s handling of the Laval case (Apr 16, 2013) Sweden’s Labour Court and ”lex Laval” comes under severe criticism from the International Labour Organisation, giving the Swedish government plenty of food for thought.; Iceland: Banking staff face health problems after crash (Apr 16, 2013) The health of banking staff has deteriorated since the 2008 Icelandic banking crash. Those who lost their jobs and found new ones are doing better than those who stayed in their original jobs. The number of bank workers visting health clinics doubled between 2008 and 2012.; Working environment one important key to get Swedes to work for longer (Apr 16, 2013) On 9 April the Swedish pension group presented its final report ‘Measures for a longer working life’. As we live longer we need to work for longer, and the review recommends establishing a flexible ‘a recommended retirement age’ for pensions, linked to life expectancy.; All news

Recent articles: Iceland’s Minister of Social Affairs: The importance of writing off debts (Jun 18, 2013) Portrait Eygló Harðardóttir is the Minister of Social Affairs in Iceland’s new government. The low number of female ministers and women in parliamentary committees has created heated debate. Most committees have an uneven gender distribution, which goes against the law. But the new minister is not particularly worried. She reckons the number of women will rise soon.; Editorial: What to do with the youth? (May 23, 2013) Comments Make no mistake: youth unemployment is foremost in Nordic politicians’ minds. Especially NEETs, young people not in education, employment or training. They make up between five and ten percent of Nordic youths. But what will politicians do for them?; Bjarne Brøndbo, the employer who didn’t say no after the first attempt (May 22, 2013) Portrait He stood there with his cigaret behind his ear, asking: Bjarne, where can I smoke? “That was the first thing he said to me,” says employer Bjarne Brøndbo. After a few hours he was ready to give up on the school dropout. He called the Labour and Welfare Service (NAV) and said he didn’t think it would work. Give him one more chance, said Randi Nyheim Aglen from the youth team. That was the beginning of a good story. What happened?; Editorial: Bad working conditions under pressure (Apr 16, 2013) Comments What do you do if your colleague works twice as long at half the pay that you get? There are trades and individuals who gravely exploit cheap labour, and in times of crisis many will accept a lot in order to get a job. What is being done in the Nordic region to make sure labour market rules are being followed? The fight against social dumping is this month’s theme in the Nordic Labour Journal.; ILO: Europe’s youth must get jobs and regain their confidence (Apr 16, 2013) Insight The ILO will help put the youth guarantee into practice and make sure €6bn granted by the EU will be used to get Europe’s youth into work. The ILO will play a stronger role in helping crisis-hit European countries to improve the economic, social and political consequences of the crisis and to reestablish trust in the countries.; Greenland’s new leader inspired by Mandela (Apr 16, 2013) Portrait Greenland politics is literally on the move after the 12 March elections. Boxes, lever arch files and personal belongings are strewn around corridors of the devolved government in the centre of Nuuk, while newly elected members move into their new offices, and meeting rooms are changing owners.; All articles

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Bjarne Brøndbo, the employer who didn’t say no after the first attempt

He stood there with his cigaret behind his ear, asking: Bjarne, where can I smoke? “That was the first thing he said to me,” says employer Bjarne Brøndbo. After a few hours he was ready to give up on the school dropout. He called the Labour and Welfare Service (NAV) and said he didn’t think it would work. Give him one more chance, said Randi Nyheim Aglen from the youth team. That was the beginning of a good story. What happened?