All Articles — Nordic Labour Journal

Palle Ørbæk signals new course for Europe’s work environment policies

(May 22, 2012) Making sure people can work to their best capacity should be a top priority when improving working environments says Palle Ørbæk, director general at the Danish Research Centre for the Working Environment. Ten other top European working environment researchers are backing him.

Editorial: The unacceptable consequences of border obstacles

(Apr 15, 2012) A long and comprehensive job to find and solve the key problems met by Nordic citizens working in a different Nordic country is nearing its end.

Editorial: One step forward and two steps back?

(Mar 08, 2012) Nordic women are loosing power in politics and society, according to Nordic Labour Journal’s barometer. Is this really the case? Denmark’s Minister for Equality promises a policy in high gear, and the chairman of Carlsberg’s executive board is going for 40 percent women on the board, but says no thank you to any legislation in Denmark. Can they achieve a better balance of power, like Iceland has?

Unemployment can be defined away

(Mar 08, 2012) The definition of employment and unemployment differs from country to country. A comparative historical perspective shows the political context - how the problem is presented and how its constituent parts change - steers our understanding. The standard views of employment are no longer relevant in countries like the US or France, according to social historian Noel Whiteside.

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir: The gender pay gap is now the most important equality issue

(Mar 08, 2012) Iceland’s Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir has managed what many thought near impossible. She has cut public spending in the wake of the market crash without negatively impacting Iceland’s social security system.

Editorial: The good life as a centenarian

(Feb 09, 2012) The good life as a centenarian is so far reserved for the very few, but this year the first post war generation turns 67. This is a watershed. Already in 2017 there will be fewer people in work than outside of work. Active ageing has never been more relevant.

Trine Lise Sundnes: Nordic workers’ voice at the ILO

(Jan 31, 2012) The most important labour-regulating conventions were first introduced in Europe before being exported to countries elsewhere. Yet these same rights are now under threat from European countries looking for more ways to cut costs in the face of the economic crisis, says Trine Lise Sundnes, who represents Nordic workers on the ILO’s governing body.

Editorial: The proof is in the pudding

(Dec 12, 2011) Social sustainability must become as obvious as a sustainable climate or environment, says Hillevi Engström, Sweden’s Minister of Labour. Like her Nordic colleagues she has a drive to open up the labour market for people with disabilities.

Loa Brynjulfsdottir wants to defend the collective agreement model

(Dec 12, 2011) Loa Brynjulfsdottir is the new general secretary at the Council of Nordic Trade Unions, NFS. Her top priority is to further defend the Nordic collective agreement model. It is under pressure from the more regulations-based way in which labour market issues are dealt with within the EU.

Editorial: The spirit of our times and future challenges

(Nov 14, 2011) The Nordic welfare state is a finely tuned system. Cooperation between the social partners and authorities is central to its development. When Nordic trade unions loose members this power balance is endangered. That is an issue well worth focusing on. According to experts and politicians Nordic Labour Journal has spoken to, there is a need for action.

Minister of Labour Lauri Ihalainen: Improved competence will safeguard Finland’s future

(Nov 11, 2011) Finland’s new government has ambitious goals for improving people’s level of competence. Finns will handle structural changes and future challenges better through improved education and adult training.

Editorial: Klondike and thousands of new Nordic jobs?

(Oct 12, 2011) How will that show in labour market statistics? Statistics Sweden, SCB, celebrates its anniversary. They have delivered labour market statistics and figures for the past 50 years. A mining boom and measures to get more jobs for more people can provide exciting figures in the years to come.

Sweden’s Minister for Nordic Coordination Ewa Björling has a soft spot for mines

(Oct 12, 2011) “We want to do something for the mining industry. There has never been Nordic cooperation in that field. Right now there’s a Klondike situation for mining in Sweden, Norway and Finland. If you include Greenland there’s a great Danish interest too,” says Ewa Björling, Sweden’s Minister for Nordic Cooperation.

Editorial: Equality means sustainability

(Sep 07, 2011) Economic crisis, political earthquakes and unprecedented terror in the midst of the Nordic region. It has all impacted the Nordic countries. “Crisis test the strength of the Nordic welfare models” is this month’s Theme. One important question pops up: must the welfare models be adapted to avoid growing differences within the countries?

Iceland’s Gudbjartur Hannesson puts people’s welfare first during the crisis

(Sep 07, 2011) We have learnt that a state welfare system is immensely important and a prerequisite for a healthy working life, says Island’s Minister for Welfare Gudbjartur Hannesson. That is why protecting our welfare system has been given top priority during the crisis.

Riots highlight Manchester’s unemployed underclass

(Sep 07, 2011) What made hundreds of youths run amok in Manchester and other UK cities in August? Debate has been fierce in the weeks following riots that cost five lives and millions of pounds in damages. The political right blames a moral collapse, the left blames budget cuts and social deprivation. In Manchester the riots have led to a renewed focus on the large and growing gap between the rich and poor.

Editorial: A common Nordic labour market but not common public goods

(Jun 17, 2011) What would happen in the Øresund region if 20 to 30,000 commuters across the bridge between Sweden and Denmark decided it was time to take action?

TCO's Eva Nordmark: unions must be relevant to our time

(Jun 16, 2011) "The union's role is to be relevant in today's working life, which is considerably different from the time when my parents started working. Yet the basic values remain the same. As always the union is about the dream of freedom, development and having the chance to live a good life," says Eva Nordmark, newly elected chairperson for TCO.

Editorial: Language - a source for joint understanding

(May 10, 2011) "Have you heard your employer use the word 'safety' and do you know what that word means?" asks the language teacher at Vestegnen's Language and Competence Centre south of Copenhagen. The quote touches on the depth of the challenges posed by not understanding a language.

Norway's Rigmor Aasrud to uncover the myth of a uniform Nordic region

(May 10, 2011) Norway's Cooperation Minister Rigmor Aasrud wants to engage the Nordic countries' grass roots when Norway takes on the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2012.