Nordic Model — Nordic Labour Journal

Bold Nordic agreement without a political “father”

(May 08, 2014) The common labour market is the jewel in the Nordic cooperation. It was established as early as 1954, three years before the five first member states of what would become the EU signed the Treaty of Rome.

Moving gave several identities

(May 08, 2014) Gunnel M Helander came to Sweden with her family aged four in late summer 1954. She now lives in Hanko in Finland’s south-westernmost point and is a retired architect. She feels Nordic: Swedish, Finnish and Ålandish. Her removal van has made many trips between Sweden and Finland.

An interest in engines took him to Sweden - but it didn’t pay enough

(May 08, 2014) Per Billington moved from Norway in 1984 to work at Volvo’s research department in Gothenburg for one and a half years. It shaped his entire career. This is where he learned ‘ordning och reda’ — Swedish ‘proper order’ — and he learned to love diesel engines.

Always Norwegian at heart

(May 08, 2014) This August Norwegian badminton player Erik Rundle has lived in Denmark for longer than he lived in Norway, and he doubts he will ever return for more than holidays and to defend his badminton titles.

Longed for Icelandic nature — became head of an aluminium plant

(May 08, 2014) When US aluminium giant Alcoa built a smelting plant in Iceland in the 2000s, Danish Janne Sigurðsson quit her job in Denmark and moved to Iceland. She was a stay-at-home mother for a while. Now she heads Alcoa’s largest aluminium smelting plant in Europe.

“Swede moving to Norway, what do I need to know?”

(May 08, 2014) On 13 December 2010 Charlotte Lundell started working as Brand Manager at Orkla Confectionery & Snacks. The first thing she did when she got the job was to google: “Swede moving to Norway, what do I need to know?” At the time she was one of 80,000 Swedes working in Norway. In 2013 she is one of 90,000.

What about the next 60? New report predicts continued success for the Nordic model

(May 07, 2014) “We need to make adjustments going forward, but if we do we have every chance of succeeding,” says the Managing Director of the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, Vesa Vihriälä. He is just finishing a report on the challenges facing the Nordic welfare model in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Dagfinn Høybråten’s new Nordic project: health cooperation

(Oct 08, 2013) Much tighter cooperation between Nordic health services is in the pipeline and if it succeeds the cooperation model can easily be expanded to include other policy areas which would help develop the Nordic welfare model. That’s the vision of the project’s chief architect, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Dagfinn Høybråten.

Christina Colclough is fascinated by the Nordic cooperation model

(Sep 09, 2013) After living in the Nordic countries for nearly 30 years, British-Danish Christina Colclough, the new Secretary General at the Council of Nordic Trade Unions, NFS, is still fascinated by the Nordic welfare and labour market model. It fuels innovation, competitiveness and productivity, she says.

Editorial: Bad working conditions under pressure

(Apr 16, 2013) What do you do if your colleague works twice as long at half the pay that you get? There are trades and individuals who gravely exploit cheap labour, and in times of crisis many will accept a lot in order to get a job. What is being done in the Nordic region to make sure labour market rules are being followed? The fight against social dumping is this month’s theme in the Nordic Labour Journal.

Nordic region increases fight against social dumping

(Apr 16, 2013) 335,000 citizens from EU’s new member states moved to the Nordic region between 2004 and 2011. A considerable number of workers and service providers from these countries have also been posted there during the same period of time. Foreign labour has represented a positive contribution to the economic growth, but it has also put pressure of wages and working conditions.

ILO: Europe’s youth must get jobs and regain their confidence

(Apr 16, 2013) The ILO will help put the youth guarantee into practice and make sure €6bn granted by the EU will be used to get Europe’s youth into work. The ILO will play a stronger role in helping crisis-hit European countries to improve the economic, social and political consequences of the crisis and to reestablish trust in the countries.

Anniken Huitfeldt: Minister of Labour with an eye for equality

(Feb 04, 2013) ”More people can do some work” says Anniken Huitfeldt when I meet Norway’s new Minister of Labour just as we enter 2013. There are parliamentary elections in September. So where will she make her mark in the next six months; where does she want to make a difference as Minister of Labour in Jens Stoltenberg’s government?

Competition from Norwegian changes the Nordic aviation market

(Dec 14, 2012) Developments in the aviation industry have presented new challenges to politicians, employers and trade unions. Deregulation and increased competition makes it cheaper to fly, which means increased growth. But market conditions could end up being tougher than the partly state owned airlines can handle.

Workplace cooperation key to Nordic model's success

(Dec 14, 2012) Many wonder how the Nordic countries manage so well through the economic crisis. It is often said it is because of their economic policies, yet the reality is more complex. This year marks 50 years since Norway’s employees (organised in LO) and employers (organised in NHO) began their cooperation project. Bjørn Gustavsen takes a look at how autonomy and workplace learning became central to the project:

Nordic seniors want longer working lives

(Oct 13, 2012) Nordic women and men work for longer than their European colleagues, and the retirement age is increasing. But there are also differences between the Nordic countries. In later years Denmark has considered Sweden and Norway to be good examples when it comes to employment among the older generation. So why the differences, and why do more people want to work for longer?

Editorial: Nordic ministers’ fruitful Svalbard meeting

(Sep 21, 2012) Norway’s Minister of Labour Hanne Bjurstrøm wanted to celebrate Nordic cooperation and invited her colleagues to Svalbard.

Unions in retreat across Europe

(Sep 14, 2012) Trade unions have lost members and influence over the past 20 years in almost all European countries. High unemployment, an increasingly deregulated labour market and weaker safety nets makes many workers weary of putting their demands forwards and to become union members. Unions in several countries also criticise what they see as a relatively self-congratulatory Nordic model.

The Nordic model marries growth and equality

(Sep 13, 2012) For five years now the Nordic model has been the subject of a study which aims to establish whether the model can manage to modernise. A conference in Oslo at the end of August marked the end of REASSESS, where 80 reports and five books were presented over two intensive days.

Nordic opposition to minimum wage shows lack of solidarity?

(May 22, 2012) Should we have a statutory minimum wage? Absolutely not say Nordic trade unions, and they’re usually backed by employers’ organisations. It’s an attitude people elsewhere in Europe find difficult to understand.