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Editorial: The part time debate needs broadening
Nov 07, 2013 Part time work is one of the most important issues in the Nordic gender equality debate. The gap might be narrowing, but women still work more part time than men. This is a question of money, culture and morals, but where lecturing might not be the best tool if you want to change things.
tema
British youth trapped in zero hour contracts
Nov 07, 2013 In the UK the use of so-called zero hour contracts is increasing in step with the country’s economic uncertainty. Employers say the contracts created jobs and give workers more freedom. Trade unions fight what they call the exploitation of young people.
News
More sick leave among ‘double-shift’ women than men
Nov 07, 2013 When a woman has her second child while holding down an equally demanding job as the father, she is at twice the risk of going off sick compared to her husband, according to a new report on sick leave among women, presented in Sweden on 5 November.
News
The Efta court clashes with Norway’s Supreme Court
Nov 07, 2013 Norway’s Supreme Court was wrong to rule that companies posting workers to the Norwegian shipbuilding industry must pay their travel, board and lodging expenses, argues the Efta Court’s President in a general attack on the Supreme Court. He accuses it of being disloyal to the EEA agreement and indicates the last word may still not been had.
News
Women less penalised for part-time work than previously thought
Oct 31, 2013 Part-time work has few negative consequences for women in the Nordic region. New regulations have reduced the impact on pensions. A preschool teacher or enrolled nurse in Denmark or Norway who works part-time for ten years still receives 98-99 percent of the maximum pension.
tema
More part time jobs mean worse working environments for young people
Oct 09, 2013 Young workers represent a heterogeneous group facing complex risks in working life. That means it is no longer enough to just focus on the young people themselves. In order to secure preventative working environment measures you also need to look at surrounding issues.
tema
Call centres: young people's entry into working life
Oct 09, 2013 Few workplaces take on more diverse staff than call centres. Youth, pensioners, handicapped, immigrants – it is the attitude and voice that determines your success, not your background or look. Even so, one of the fastest growing sectors is struggling to find enough people who want to work.
In focus
Young people's working environment - a complicated case
Oct 09, 2013 It is not enough to only focus on the young people themselves if you want to understand the risks they face in working life and limit workplace accidents and injuries. That’s why a Nordic commissioner suggests that politicians should think about launching a vision zero for both young and older people’s work environments.
tema
Au pairs balance between cultural exchange and work
Oct 09, 2013 How far does our concern for young people’s working environment stretch? Does it go as far as to cover Filipino au pairs in Norway and Denmark? This month saw the start of a trial in Oslo against a host family who allegedly forced two au pairs to work 96 hour weeks.
News
Elisabeth Svantesson is Sweden’s new Minister for Employment
Oct 09, 2013 On 17 September Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt appointed Elisabeth Svantesson as his new Minister for Employment. She replaces Hillevi Engström who became Minister for International Development Cooperation. The reshuffle was announced during the Prime Minister’s government declaration.
Portrait
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.
Comments
Editorial: Can we afford not to invest in young people?
Sep 13, 2013 What can get more young people into work? Where are the successful experiences that shows it pays to give young people a chance in working life? Everyone shares the same goal: getting people into work while maintaining an efficient use of taxpayers’ money, says Sweden’s Minister for Labour Hillevi Engström in this month’s theme.
tema
Labour market education: a pathway to work? More knowledge is needed
Sep 13, 2013 Labour market education was the hot topic for the discussion between employment ministers and the social partners at the Nordic Minister meeting in Övertorneå on 27. august. The debate unveiled large differences between the Nordic countries, and a lack of knowledge about the efficiency of such measures. A new Nordic initiative aims to give a nuanced insight into systems and the way they operate.
tema
Successful vocational training for long-term unemployed in the Arctic
Sep 13, 2013 The Arctic Vocational Foundation is a joint Nordic institution providing individualised training within more than 30 vocations to unemployed Finns, Swedes and Norwegians. This, is where Sweden’s Minister for Employment Hillevi Engström invited her Nordic colleagues and working life representatives to consultations. What makes this training so special?
tema
