Labour Market
Norway's interpreter costs rise, yet interpreters are underused
The cost of interpreter services in the public sector has risen sharply in Norway. In 2019 the total cost was 843 million kroner (€85.3m). In six years interpreter costs have gone up by 72%. But not using qualified interpreters at all can quickly become even more costly. New interpreter legislation could improve the situation.
Nordic model well suited for future of work challenges
Nordic labour ministers met digitally on 2 June to discuss the final report from the Nordic research project on the future of work. It warns of challenges to the Nordic model, but also concludes it is the best tool in the fight against an unequal labour market.
The many languages of working life
In this edition, we look at work from several different points of view. But in reality, it all comes down to the same thing. Work gives us an identity and experiences we would not have otherwise. That is why we are vulnerable when our professional roles are under attack. Or if we never get the chance to work.
The Intensive Year: 12 months to find jobs for Swedish immigrants
The Helsingborg employment service got ready as soon as the government announced its decision, and was prepared when the Intensive Year was launched on 15 April this year. One month later, 40 job seekers have been contacted. One of them is Mehmet.
Greenland chooses new government in protest against controversial mining
Greenland’s natural resource fairytale must not come at the expense of Greenlanders’ health, welfare and job opportunities. That was the clear signal from voters as they went to the polls to on 6 April 2021 and got a new coalition government.
How have the Nordics managed the Corona crisis so far?
The Nordic countries have dealt with the economic crisis caused by the Corona pandemic in similar ways. As a result, unemployment is now falling back to more normal levels. A report from the Danish Technological Institute on commission from the Nordic Council of Ministers argues it is time to adjust the support measures.
Jon Erik Dølvik: Stored demand could help create jobs
The largest research project ever to be financed by the employment ministers at the Nordic Council of Ministers was about to conclude just as the Corona pandemic hit. How will the pandemic and the economic crisis in its wake impact on the advice the researchers will give on the future of work?
17 types of employment – and the rest
The Nordics have not become a region of freelancers, but there is a growing multitude of different forms of labour. The Corona pandemic has also made life for people with non-standard work even more precarious, confirmed experts at a Nordic conference on the future of work.
Future of work: Is there space for people with disabilities?
There is no lack of technology to help people with disabilities enter the labour market. The main obstacle remains attitudes among employers and in society as a whole. More than a quick fix is needed to move beyond this.
Elves, dogs and reindeer suffer as tourists disappear from Arctic Circle
There seems to be more visitors to the post office than anywhere else in Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus Village – despite the risk of infection. Auli Sihvo has worked there for 20 years and seen how Santa has improved Lapland's commercial pulling-power.
War destitution created Lapland's tourism boom. It began here.
The tourism industry in Finnish Lapland has a lot to thank Eleanor Roosevelt for. The presidential widow’s visit to Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle set in motion an international Lapland industry. This year is the 70th anniversary of her visit.
Collective agreements important for people's trust in the future
It has been trying times for everyone participating in the Nordic exercise known as collective bargaining. The social partners deciding, between themselves, how wages should develop, is one of the pillars of the Nordic model.
Finnish employers signal backtracking on wage agreements
Not all businesses can afford to pay the agreed wage increases in Finland, warns the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries. Yet the trade unions will not tear up any collective agreements. The corona crisis rises many questions for Finnish labour market politics. Some say Finland’s competitiveness could be under threat. Employers argue the Prime Minister’s vision for six-hour days makes matters worse.
Collective bargaining with face masks
Nordic employers and trade unions have spent spring and summer in collective bargaining efforts, except in Sweden where negotiations have been postponed until 1 October because of the corona pandemic. How has sharply rising unemployment impacted on the process? Will certain groups, who have been working even harder during the crisis, get their reward?
Hot spring and summer for Iceland’s collective bargaining
Iceland’s newly appointed state mediator Aðalsteinn Leifsson had no easy task when he started work on 1 April 2020. The corona pandemic had a brutal effect on Iceland’s economy. Challenging mediating tasks included wage negotiations for cabin crew, nurses and upper secondary school teachers.
Susanna Gideonsson: We must defend the Swedish model
Swedish LO’s new President, Susanna Gideonsson, has deep roots in the trade union movement. At 16 she started getting engaged in work against unfair conditions at work, and now she represents 1.4 million LO members across 14 unions. Her current main challenge is to protect the Swedish model against political interference in labour law reform.
The Öresund Bridge is 20, and gets a sub-sea equivalent
The bridge linking two Nordic countries is 20 years old this summer. The link has been important for the Öresund region’s development. It is also important for the massive project of securing a permanent link between Zealand and Germany.
"Like a Berlin Wall between Haparanda and Tornio"
When the border between Finland and Sweden closed, the entire common market for the whole of Tornedalen disappeared – goods, services, labour and culture. The hospitality and retail sectors are seriously affected. Those who have been furloughed or served notices are starting to fall into unemployment.
Closed borders trigger unemployment in Sweden
Sweden’s biggest cities have been the worst hit by the pandemic, and in particular Stockholm. Infection rates have remained low in Sweden's border areas, but municipalities there are struggling economically because the borders have closed.
Faroe Islands: Old recipes and new crises
An economic crisis from 1992, a salmon test from 2000 and an idea for a restaurant from 2013. These are some of the ingredients in the Faroese recipe for how the island society in the North Atlantic and its 52,000 inhabitants would come out out of the Corona crisis better than anyone. So far it has been a rather good recipe.
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