News — Nordic Labour Journal

Finnish cases in EU Court of Justice could have Nordic consequences

(Oct 14, 2014) Is the Finnish system of universally applicable collective agreements incompatible with the free movement of services? That is what an advocate-general at the Court of Justice of the European Union suggests in a fresh opinion. The case is only one out of three current ones which could have a major impact on the Nordic countries’ labour markets.

Stefan Löfven (S): Sweden will be a global role model

(Oct 03, 2014) Prime Minister Löfven called his new government feminist as he presented it in parliament on Friday. It has 23 government ministers — 12 women and 11 men plus the Prime Minister — and is a coalition comprising the Social Democrats and the Green Party. Work was top of Löfven’s speech.

Researchers: Employment has become more important than job content

(Sep 10, 2014) Working life has been on the agenda during the Swedish general election campaign, and especially unemployment. More jobs are needed. Yet visions for the content of those jobs have not figured politically — an inconsistency highlighted by a group of researchers at a recent meeting in Stockholm.

OECD: Wage cuts will not create jobs

(Sep 03, 2014) Industrialised countries have reached the limit for how much wages can be cut. Since the start of the economic crisis, wages have fallen in real terms for half of all employees in OECD countries. Further cuts could be counter-productive and damage growth.

The Nordic model: From Reykjavik to Paris

(Jun 17, 2014) “The Nordic countries need to stay on course. They will be an example to other countries, a reference point, particularly when it comes to the harmony between growth and really good social standards,” says Christian Kastrop, newly appointed Director for the Policy Studies Branch at the OECD’s economy department.

Conflict over part time labour stops Swedish trains

(Jun 17, 2014) A train strike in southern Sweden has put renewed focus on how competition for public contracts affects the rights of the contractors’ employees, and to which extent the procuring authority can interfere in their working and employment conditions.

Iceland initiates a Nordic welfare watch

(Jun 17, 2014) As part as its presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Iceland has initiated a research project to look into the possibilities and interest for creating a Nordic welfare watch. Researchers in the Nordic countries will work together until 2016 to map how economic crisis influence welfare and how it can be made sustainable also during bad times.

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.

Agreement on main contractor liability stopped strike

(Apr 04, 2014) A bit of history was written in the evening of 31 March when a new collective agreement was reached on main contractor liability within the Swedish construction industry. It prevented strike action with hours to spare and will see the employers’ organisation the Swedish Construction Federation (BI) establishing a fund to guarantee wages for subcontractors’ workers.

Unique judgement - managers guilty of employee’s suicide

(Mar 05, 2014) In Sweden two managers at a social services centre were found guilty in February of causing an employee’s depression and suicide. The judgement is unique. Never before has an employer been found guilty of causing psychological illness, and regardless of whether it is overturned on appeal this judgement serves as a wake-up call for Swedish employers.

Mikael Sjöberg new head of the Swedish Public Employment Service

(Mar 03, 2014) The Swedish Public Employment Service has a new Director-General. Mikael Sjöberg comes from the post as Director-General at the Swedish Work Environment Authority. The Employment Service’s former head was fired in August last year.

Fewer deaths at work

(Feb 11, 2014) The number of deaths in Nordic workplaces continues to fall, according to preliminary figures collected by NLJ for last year from Finland, Sweden and Denmark. But there has been an increase in fatal accident in Norway, a trend which has repeated itself for the past three years.

Recommendations ready for new Danish employment policy

(Feb 06, 2014) There will be major changes to measures aimed at unemployed people on benefit if the Danish government follows the recently published recommendations from the so-called Carsten Koch committee. A new employment policy is expected to be ready before the summer recess.

Renewed focus on Danish working environments

(Feb 06, 2014) Denmark’s construction industry will fight to limit workplace accidents. It’s the latest in a range of government initiatives aimed at improving the physical work environment.

The 2014 Icelandic Presidency: focus on masculinity

(Dec 11, 2013) Iceland takes over the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers from next year, during which time the Council will focus on labour market issues, men and masculinity as well as ways of removing border obstacles between the Nordic countries.