News
Record low unemployment in the Faroe Islands – just 296 people
Feb 27, 2020 Nowhere in the Nordics will you find a higher employment rate than in the Faroe Islands right now. It stands at 90%, and unemployment is only 0.9%. What is it like in a society where nearly everyone has a job, and where being unemployed is correspondingly difficult?
In focus
Theme: The lack of assistant nurses
Feb 17, 2020 Across the Nordics there is a lack of hospital staff. NLJ focuses on assistant nurses. How do you increase the occupation's status? By giving it legal protection, as is proposed in Sweden? By transferring tasks from nurses, as is being done in Norway, or by establishing more full-time jobs like in Denmark?
tema
Swedish assistant nurses want higher status through legal recognition
Feb 16, 2020 Assistant nurse is one of the most common professions in Sweden. 180 000 out of a total of 200 000 workers in elderly care are assistant nurses, but unlike their other Nordic colleagues, their profession is not regulated. Making this happen has long been a trade union demand and right now legislation is being prepared which might give them a protected title.
News
Labour Ministers invite Nicolas Schmit to meeting
Feb 16, 2020 Nordic governments are joining forces to explain the Nordic labour market model to EU lawmakers. The Labour Ministers have sent a letter to the new Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, inviting him to a meeting in Copenhagen in early April to discuss the Nordic countries’ chosen priorities.
News
The Nordics lack children – only Greenland stands out
Feb 15, 2020 The Nordic countries often top global rankings for happiness and gender equality. But who will benefit from this in the future, when fertility rates are falling and populations are ageing? According to the State of the Nordic Region 2020 report, only in Greenland are there far more children than old people.
Portrait
Torbjørn Røe Isaksen takes on tricky government post
Feb 12, 2020 Torbjørn Røe Isaksen became Norway’s new Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion on 24 January. It is the least sought-after government post right now, after the biggest legal scandal in the country’s history. But Isaksen has ambitions.
Insight
The North Sea Diver – working under pressure
Feb 11, 2020 There are few stories describing working life in Norway’s offshore oil industry, despite the massive impact the sector has had on the country’s economy. Now a new book details one of most remarkable new occupations that emerged from the industry – the deep sea divers. The author is Swedish Hans Claesson.
News
Rail suicides: a joint Nordic approach to reduce numbers
Jan 28, 2020 Every year, 3,500 people in the Nordic region take their own lives. The Nordic Council Welfare Committee wants to stop this happening and has presented a vision to prevent all suicide. One of the group’s proposals is a vision zero for rail suicides by 2025.
Editorial
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Nordics
The Nordic cooperation has three clear goals
Jan 20, 2020 The Nordic cooperation will soon be going through major changes. A new vision is to be turned into practical politics within three strategic areas. This special edition of the Nordic Labour Journal looks at what is happening in the Nordic Council of Ministers.
tema
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Nordics
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ vision for 2030
Jan 20, 2020 “Now the work begins for real,” says Helle Engslund Krarup, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Secretary General’s office. At the end of an intensive process, the Nordic cooperation has a new vision. But how to execute it, and what must give in order to reach the goals within the same budget? The first answers will come in early February.
tema
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Nordics
Iceland: Paternity leave a boost to men’s identity
Jan 20, 2020 The Nordic Gender Effect at Work is one of the Nordic prime ministers’ most important projects for the advancement of gender equality. It is considered to be an important prerequisite for a good labour market and for economic growth.
tema
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Nordics
New profile leaves Nordic traces around the world
Jan 20, 2020 The Nordic Region is attractive, with its 27 million citizens over five countries living in peaceful coexistence. We are far from perfect, but perhaps that is what makes us fascinating. The Nordic Council of Ministers tries to look after all this by creating a Nordic brand.
tema
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Nordics
The Nordics: practical and industrious cooperation
Jan 20, 2020 At an arrival halls café at Reykjavik airport, researchers Kristin Alsos and Jon Erik Dølvik are sat working. They are waiting for the rest of the group arriving from different Nordic countries before sharing a taxi to Hveragerði, an hour from Keflavik.
tema
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Nordics
"More hard issues should be discussed at the Nordic Council"
Jan 20, 2020 Protect democracy, fight fake news and protect biological diversity. These are issues on the agenda for Iceland’s 2020 Presidency of the Nordic Council. Another focus area is to improve knowledge of Nordic languages.
In focus
