All Articles — Nordic Labour Journal

A platform economy, on what terms?

(May 26, 2017) Is the digital platform economy a threat to the Nordic model? Which strategies are needed in order to influence the development? Is a separate Nordic platform economy possible? The Nordic Labour Journal shines a light on the future of work.

Britt Lundberg: President of the entire Nordic region

(May 04, 2017) Border obstacles must go. That is crucial for both growth and employment. And important for the 2017 Finnish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, says the President of the Nordic Council, Britt Lundberg from Åland and Finland.

New roads leading to healthy workplaces

(Apr 07, 2017) The Nordic countries want to be best internationally, and consider healthy workplaces to be a great competitive advantage in a global market place. But, as Nordic researchers warn: “a good working environment is not the icing on the cake, but the pointers you apply in the course of the process”. In this month’s Theme, the Nordic Labour Journal looks at the pointers the different countries have been applying.

Norway's Minister of Labour Anniken Hauglie is passionate about social entrepreneurship

(Apr 06, 2017) Anniken Hauglie is changing working hour regulations and strengthening legislation protecting whistleblowers. Together with the social partners she wants to draw clearer lines for what staffing agencies can and cannot do, strengthen work against work related crime and she invites Nordic colleagues to discuss what the sharing economy and new trends will do to the future of work.

The Nordic region not good enough on gender equality and mental health

(Mar 06, 2017) There has been no overall change in the distribution of powerful positions in the Nordic region, according to the NLJ’s gender equality barometer for 2017. Yet there is an increase in the number of women in top positions within trade unions, employers’ organisations and labour government ministries.

Old people and politics

(Feb 02, 2017) The Faroe Islands want to tempt women to move back home. There is a female deficit. Like in many more remote areas in the Nordic region, there is a demographic imbalance. Young people are drawn to urban areas, and the older grow older still. Can migrants fill the holes in the labour market as the health and care sectors’ responsibilities grow? “The hundred-year-wave hits the Nordic labour market” is this issue's theme.

Þorsteinn Víglundsson: Legislating for an equal pay standard

(Feb 02, 2017) Iceland’s new Minister of Social Affairs and Equal Rights, Þorsteinn Víglundsson, will introduce a brand new labour market policy based on the Nordic model. He will also present proposed legislation to implement an equal pay standard. Þorsteinn knows the labour market well, having been the Director General of the Confederation of Icelandic Employers (SA).

The ILO’s Deborah Greenfield: In dialogue with the Nordics on gender equality

(Dec 15, 2016) Deborah Greenfield was part of the transitional administration from Bush to Obama. Now, as the Deputy Director General, she is about to take the ILO into a new era. Meeting Nordic labour ministers, Deborah Greenfield is impressed with the discussion.

Jyrki Katainen: Populism threatens stability and risks increasing unemployment

(Dec 15, 2016) The EU Commission’s Vice-President, responsible for jobs, growth, investments and competitiveness, is attacking populism, praises the circular economy and defends the EU Pillar of Social Rights in an interview with the Nordic Labour Journal.

Everything is connected – also the Nordic region

(Nov 16, 2016) Nordic cooperation for 2017 has been given title: A Europe in transition needs a strong Nordic Region. So what is needed to build and promote the region? More sharing of knowledge? Greater focus on the Nordic welfare model? Greater focus on which values that the Nordics choose to follow? Is a more authoritarian labour market a choice the Nordics will make?

NIB’s Henrik Normann – the welfare sector needs a bank director too

(Nov 16, 2016) Henrik Normann heads one of the most successful Nordic institutions, the Nordic Investment Bank. It is celebrating 40 years in business, and was founded with capital from all of the five Nordic countries.

Why did Iceland do so well?

(Nov 16, 2016) From the crisis hit in 2008 until 2011 Iceland experienced the greatest income redistribution in Europe. It is common to think that cuts are needed to deal with economic crises. Iceland is an example of the opposite. Welfare works better than cuts, claim the researchers behind the report Welfare consequences of financial crises.

How do you integrate last year’s refugees into the labour market?

(Nov 16, 2016) Refugees represent a different type of group compared to labour immigrants. The integrating of last year’s record number of refugees to the Nordic region will therefore probably take longer than for labour immigrants. There is also a risk that labour market integration runs into problems after five to ten years, warned researches at a Nordic seminar held in Oslo.

The Nordic region – not cheaper, but smarter?

(Oct 14, 2016) Smart solutions are often digital. Digitalisation is central to how society develops and it affects our lives in completely new ways. How does this development work in practice and how is the Nordic region contributing? There are several questions: Can the future become too smart? Do we need to pose more questions? Discuss more?

Elisabeth Vik Aspaker, the government minister in charge of Nordic cooperation in 2017

(Oct 13, 2016) Elisabeth Vik Aspaker is Norway's Minister of EEA and EU Affairs, and the Minister of Nordic Cooperation. She comes from Norway's northernmost county and is used to working across the Cap of the North. She has been an advisor and state secretary in several centre-right governments and is well prepared for 2017. That is when she will be in charge of Nordic cooperation. What will be her priorities?

Do tell! Why do we have it so good in the Nordics?

(Sep 16, 2016) Is our knowledge about the Nordic model about to erode? Are we turning this force of cooperation and labour market relations, the very core of our welfare, into a grand expression without any resonance? Do tell! The Nordic Labour Journal throws a light on the Nordic model throughout this September issue, along with the core values of cooperation, trust and joint decision-making in our theme Protect the trust!

SAK President Jarkko Eloranta: Poorer Finns cannot be a good thing for Finland

(Sep 16, 2016) Since June this year, Finland’s largest trade union SAK has been run by Jarkko Eloranta. In this portrait interview with the Nordic Labour Journal he attacks the government’s labour market politics for its aim of making Finnish labour cheaper.

ILO: The future labour market in dire straits, time for action

(Sep 16, 2016) There is trouble ahead for the future labour market: global growth is falling, jobs are disappearing, employment contracts are changing, inequality is on the rise and the middle classes are no longer growing. But not everything points in a negative direction, and according to Finland’s Minister of Justice and Employment we can influence developments.

Birgitta Forsström – The fresh thinking Nordic region’s working environment director

(Jun 14, 2016) Good leadership is crucial for well-being at work thinks NIVA’s new director, Birgitta Forsström. NIVA now offers courses in health promoting leadership and diversity leadership in addition to more traditional themes. This is how she wants to create new Nordic arenas for training in the working environment area.

Editorial: The psychosocial challenge

(May 20, 2016) The story about Kristján from Iceland in this month’s theme illustrates how exposed young people often are in working life. When the Nordic Labour Journal shines a light on the psychosocial working environment, the story widens out. The theme shows how organisational changes are needed and how systematic efforts can turn sick leave figures on their heads.