Sweden
The ITUC affiliates in Sweden are the Landsorganisationen i Sverige (LO), the Sveriges Akademikers Centralorganisation (SACO) and the Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation (TCO).
Sweden ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association
freedom of association
The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.
See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1949 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining
collective bargaining
The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.
See collective bargaining agreement
(1949) in 1950.
Legal
Freedom of association / Right to organise
Freedom of association
The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
Anti-Union discrimination
The law prohibits anti-union discrimination.
Right to collective bargaining
Right to collective bargaining
The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law.
Right to strike
Right to strike
The right to strike is recognised in the Labour Law.
Ban or limitations on certain types of strike actions
- Restrictions with respect to the objective of a strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike (e.g. industrial disputes, economic and social issues, political, sympathy and solidarity reasons) - There are restrictions on industrial action resulting from sections 5(a) and (b) of the Foreign Posting of Employees Act and section 41(c) of the Co-determination Act, insofar as these provisions prevent trade unions from taking action to improve the employment conditions of posted workers over and beyond the minimum conditions set out in agreements at central level or the user undertaking.
Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors
- Undue restrictions for “public servants”
- Public sector employees also enjoy the right to strike, subject to limitations in the collective agreements to protect the public's immediate health and security.
In practice
Union discrimination cases are very rare in Sweden. The Swedish Confederation for Professional Employees (TCO) reports that union members that are most affected are generally those who are elected as employee representatives and occupational safety and health (OSH) representatives. For example, in 2017, the union for employees in the local welfare sector represented a member in a private company who was threatened with retaliation by her employer when she tried to press OSH and trade union issues in her capacity as OSH representative. The police union also reported that OSH representatives on rare occasions feel that they are not treated as well as other employees when it comes to pay rises and such things.
The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO), the Swedish Confederation for Professional Employees (TCO) and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (SACO) report only incidental physical attacks on union members, and rare discrimination against union members. Other impediments to union activities, union members or workers are deemed incidental and rare.
LO observes the decreasing ratio of Labour inspectors to workers, which has risen to 16991 workers per Inspector. LO also observes the substantial increase in work accidents among young workers (17 per cent), relatively to the increase for all workers (2 per cent).
New legislative rules came into force in 2010 due to the conclusions by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the so called Laval case. These amendments of law entail restrictions in the right to take industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. against all companies that post workers to Sweden. The most important restrictions are as follows. Firstly, the new legislation prohibits trade unions from trying to bring about collective agreements using industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. on matters other than those specifically mentioned in the Swedish Posting of Workers Act, which derives from the EU-legislation by the Posting of Workers Directive.
Secondly, the agreement may only contain rules on minimum rates of pay and minimum conditions. The trade union organisations are prohibited from trying, with the help of industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. , to reach agreements at a higher level than the absolute minimum level that exist in the central collective agreement in the sector.
Thirdly, the new statutory requirements mean that the trade union organisations are, in some cases, entirely deprived of the right to try to regulate working conditions through collective agreements achieved with the help of industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. . According to the Swedish Posting of Workers Act, industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. may not be taken at all if the employer shows that the workers’ conditions are in all essentials at least as favourable as the minimum conditions of a normal Swedish collective agreement within the framework of the Swedish Posting of Workers Act. This means that in these cases collective agreement free zones are created in the Swedish labour market, where it is only possible to conclude a collective agreement if the employer accept it voluntarily.