Newsletter from the Nordic Labour Journal 1/2016
Editorial: More cooperation, less division
How are you doing in the Nordic countries? asks Finland at the kick-off for the Finnish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Finland wants to promote exciting meetings and new thinking. The future is all about finding new ways of cooperating across disciplines and across borders. The Nordic region seeks new perspectives on new challenges. Why?
Sustainability must be based on democracy and has a hefty price tag
Nordic countries are leading the way in sustainable development and welfare, built on solid democratic foundations. That was one of the central themes when Finland organised its first conference after taking on the 2016 Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
When the diversity diversifies
“Immigration to the Nordic region does not only mean more diversity. What we’re seeing now is that the diversity is diversifying. We get super-diversity,” says Tuomas Martikainen, Director of the Finnish Institute of Migration.
Iceland's Welfare Watch cushioned the crisis and led to stronger Nordic cooperation
The Finnish programme for Nordic cooperation aims to secure welfare by extending cooperation between different government departments and organisations. But can it be done? Iceland’s Welfare Watch is one of the best examples of an innovative way to cooperate.
How are you doing in the Nordic countries?
Kick off in Turku/Åbo for the Finnish Presidency and a great drive for Nordic cross-sector cooperation. How can work, welfare and culture be combined?
Art, culture and wellbeing
What if we turned the pyramide upside down and allowed the ministry of culture, rather than the ministry of finance, to be in charge of social development? What would happen if that ministry, which is usually bottom of the hierarchy, could prioritise measures to promote sustainable development? Would it make a difference?
Finland’s Anne Berner: We must not loose the right to Nordic freedom of movement
It has been eight months since business woman Anne Berner became a minister in Finland’s new centre right Sipilä government. She plans to stay in politics for one term, which means she has no more than three years and four months to implement her plans. And she has her plans laid out.
The Swedish agreement model’s big test
In 2016 the Swedish wage setting model is being put to its biggest test for several decades. Agreements must be made for some three million employees, but the members of the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) are split, and different demands from different unions and trades risk breaking a nearly 20 year old tradition where the industry has set the norm for wage increases.
Opening the labour market for vulnerable citizens
One hour’s work a week is better than nothing. That is the thinking behind the major drive in recent years to get vulnerable Danes into the labour market. New research shows businesses are ready to create small jobs for vulnerable groups.
Labour dispute at Icelandic smelter – a threat to the country’s agreement model?
A bitter labour dispute between trade unions and employers at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Icelandic smelter Isal is in its second year. Workers have twice threatened to go on strike, but have pulled back at the last minute because of fears the smelter would be shut down. Six trade unions are negotiating, but most of the 500 employees at the smelter in Straumsvík belong to the Hlíf union.
Nordic countries fight unwanted consequences of EU benefit rules
The EU’s rules on social security benefits need modernisation and the cost must be shared more equally between member states. If not, liberal benefit systems like those found in Nordic countries might not be sustainable, argue Nordic governments as they join forces to push the issue in the EU.
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