Opinion — Nordic Labour Journal

Nordic visions of more children and fewer suicides

(Feb 16, 2020) The Nordic cooperation's symbol is a swan. But black swans also symbolise the unexpected. This newsletter is about both birth and death. Assistant nurses play an important role in what happens between those two events.

The Nordic cooperation has three clear goals

(Jan 20, 2020) The Nordic cooperation will soon be going through major changes. A new vision is to be turned into practical politics within three strategic areas. This special edition of the Nordic Labour Journal looks at what is happening in the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The skewed distribution of welfare

(Dec 17, 2019) In Finland, there has been a government crisis. In Sweden, the politicians quarrel over the Public Employment Service and in Norway the scandal where thousands were branded benefit cheats, continues. At the same time, the gap between the poor and the rich is slowly but surely increasing - even in the Faroe Islands where growth has been highest.

Fraud in the welfare state

(Nov 27, 2019) The word fraud has been used a lot in the welfare debate in the Nordics this autumn. In Norway, the “NAV scandal” has been dominating the news. In Denmark, an employee at the National Board of Social Services is in court charged with embezzling more than 100 million Danish kroner, while unemployment statistics for Sweden have been compromised.

The multi-faceted fight against sexual harassment

(Oct 18, 2019) This October it is two years since the American actor Alyssa Milano sent out the first tweet with the hashtag #metoo. That set off a reaction that spread from Twitter to the streets and into the corridors of power. Suddenly sexualised violence and harassment was being discussed in a new way. But what has really changed in these three years?

The Nordics, the EU and the climate

(Sep 12, 2019) New labour ministers have recently been appointed in three of the Nordic countries. In Finland and Denmark as a result of elections, in Sweden because the government nominated Ylva Johansson to a role as a new EU commissioner.

How to change the world

(Jun 29, 2019) In this edition of the Nordic Labour Journal, we write about the ILO, the Treaty of Versailles and tourism. In a funny way, they are all linked.

A more precise view on inclusion

(May 26, 2019) It is hard to generalise about labour market inclusion. Everyone who fails to join or who drops out have their own story. But we are getting more detailed comparisons between the different Nordic countries.

Nordic region leading by example

(Apr 12, 2019) The most important thing the Nordics can do to contribute to the ILO is to lead by example. That was the message from the Director-General Guy Ryder during the fourth and final conference on the Future of Work, held in Reykjavik.

Gender or general equality – what is more important?

(Mar 06, 2019) On the 8th of March, the entire world focuses women’s rights. The NLJ’s gender equality barometer mirrors a small part of the gender balance in the Nordic region; whether there is a man or a woman in 24 positions of power. This year saw a modest increase in the number of women, but the trend is nevertheless clear. Gender equality is on the rise, even though things are moving slowly.

The changing nature of cooperation

(Feb 15, 2019) Nordic labour markets have seen major and at times dramatic changes at the start of 2019. In Sweden 4,500 employment service workers have been made redundant, in Finland sick leave levels are rising and Denmark now has two rather than three trade union confederations.

Do we have the statistics we need?

(Dec 17, 2018) ”What we measure affects what we do. If we measure the wrong thing, we will do the wrong thing. If we don't measure something, it becomes neglected, as if the problem didn't exist.”

What happened to the spirit of consent?

(Nov 15, 2018) Have we become less good at solving conflicts in the Nordic region? Are we seeing a weakening of the spirit of consent which has made it possible to reach compromises that everyone can live with? This issue of the Nordic Labour Journal looks at the debate in the five Nordic countries.

New tendencies in Nordic work environments

(Oct 16, 2018) Work environments can be many things. In this issue of the Nordic Labour Journal we investigate some of them. Oslo recently hosted the largest Nordic conference so far on Supported Employment. One of the questions asked there was who gets to partake in the labour market in the first place?

Cooperation brings better results

(Sep 07, 2018) Increased internationalisation demands better cooperation across national and traditional borders. New methods and ways of thinking need input from many sources. This concerns the art world as well as the fight against criminals. But how do you create good results?