All Articles — Nordic Labour Journal

Fighting poverty in EU – a tale of five cities

(May 20, 2016) The European Union made the combat against poverty and social exclusion one of its main goals in 2008. 20 million vulnerable people should be helped to a better life by 2020 in a coordinated effort, according to the European Commission. The main tool would be active inclusion. But its easier said than done.

Where to now, Nordic Region?

(Apr 19, 2016) During the Nordic Council’s Session in Oslo on 19 April new border obstacles are being debated. Border controls for travellers from Denmark to Sweden could be introduced for those travelling in the opposite direction. The Nordic Labour Journal follows the debate, and takes a look at the basic challenge: What is being done to integrate refugees and immigrants into the labour market?

When the welfare state falls short: Is social entrepreneurship the solution?

(Apr 17, 2016) Social entrepreneurship and social innovation could help develop the Nordic welfare models, says Norway’s Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion Anniken Hauglie. These are issues she would like to promote when Norway takes on the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2017.

Carola Lemne: Optimist on behalf of Swedish businesses

(Mar 22, 2016) Carola Lemne is first among equals at The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and spokeswoman for 60,000 small and large companies. Her recipe for better inclusion of newly arrived people into work is cutting costs for employers. Lower pay and lower tax leave both employers and employees better off.

Gender equality important to parents and generals alike

(Mar 04, 2016) Last year Denmark got its first female leader for the confederation of trade unions, and Norway got its first female chief justice of the supreme court. There are still a few positions of power not yet held by a woman among the 24 which the Nordic Labour Journal measures. But the only position never held by a woman in any Nordic country is commander-in-chief.

Kristin Lund: No shortcuts to gender equality in the armed forces

(Mar 04, 2016) Major General Kristin Lund from Norway is the UN’s first female commander of a peacekeeping force. She believes there will be a female commander-in-chief in one of the Nordic countries within four years.

More cooperation, less division

(Feb 08, 2016) How are you doing in the Nordic countries? asks Finland at the kick-off for the Finnish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Finland wants to promote exciting meetings and new thinking. The future is all about finding new ways of cooperating across disciplines and across borders. The Nordic region seeks new perspectives on new challenges. Why?

Finland’s Anne Berner: We must not loose the right to Nordic freedom of movement

(Feb 08, 2016) It has been eight months since business woman Anne Berner became a minister in Finland’s new centre right Sipilä government. She plans to stay in politics for one term, which means she has no more than three years and four months to implement her plans. And she has her plans laid out.

Tighten up!

(Nov 27, 2015) The limit has been reached. Controls are being increased and things are being tightened up. Even Sweden has thrown in the towel. Swedish asylum rules will be adapted to fit with the EU’s minimum level. What now? Will the Nordic welfare societies stand the test?

Marginalised youths on the labour ministers’ agenda

(Nov 27, 2015) “No youths should be left to their own devices for longer periods of time,” Danish Noemi Katznelson told Nordic labour ministers when she presented her latest research in Copenhagen recently. Marginalised youths and work were the themes for discussion between the ministers and the social partners, with a focus on preventative measures against unemployment.

New President of LO-Denmark defends the Nordic model

(Nov 27, 2015) The new first lady of the Danish trade union movement, Lizette Risgaard, is a staunch defender of Nordic cooperation and has already proven that she will fight to the bitter end in defence of the Nordic collective bargaining model.

Refugees leaving their mark

(Oct 23, 2015) “I don’t believe anyone in any government office fails to think about refugees,” says the new Director for the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) Sigrun Vågeng in the Portrait. The numbers arriving to the Nordics have broken all predictions and colour societies and their public debate.

Norway's new NAV Director: Sigrun Vågeng wants less central control and better leadership

(Oct 23, 2015) “I have clear instructions to increase the focus on labour within NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration). That is my mission,” says Labour and Welfare Director Sigrun Vågeng. She believes less centralised control and more leadership will help her in that mission.

“So you want to pay VAT?"

(Sep 29, 2015) The shadow economy, undeclared work, social dumping. We are talking cheating and deception, but how do you fight the illegal actions which erode the welfare state?

Youth unemployment at the Economic Forum: how to solve it?

(Sep 29, 2015) What is needed to make sure young people can find a proper job, allowing them to make a decent living? Youth unemployment hits the Nordic countries and other European countries in different ways, but it remains a major challenge for all of them. Is the youth guarantee the solution? What is the answer?

Jari Lindström: The Minister of Employment who switched sides

(Sep 29, 2015) A few years ago Jari Lindström was an unemployed paper mill worker in an industrial town with no future. Today he is Minister of Justice and Employment in the Finnish government planning considerable benefit cuts. Lindström has been forced to defend decisions he was fighting against not long ago.

A space for Nordjobb?

(Jun 22, 2015) “Ambitions are often bigger than the results when it comes to Nordic cooperation, but that does not change the fact that the dogma is alive and well. And so is the feeling that we still have something valuable which should be looked after, nurtured and developed. So there is something at the core of all this,” says Poul Nielson in Portrait. Perhaps a perspective worth a thought as the Nordic Labour Journal focuses on Nordjobb.

New Danish government: A new and challenging course for Danish labour market politics

(Jun 22, 2015) Denmark’s new centre-right government faces the hard task of reforming the country’s unemployment benefit model.

Former EU Commissioner Poul Nielson: The Nordic region plays a role

(Jun 22, 2015) “The Nordic region is not an island in the global society. If we want to protect what we care about and make sure we are not overrun by the values of others, we need to enter that fight,” Poul Nielson tells the Nordic Labour Journal.

Basic skills - use them or lose them

(May 21, 2015) The results from the first ever Nordic PIAAC report are both exciting and frightening. It shows a surprising number of people have such poor basic skills that it affects their chances in working and public life, and it does not improve with age either.