Sweden

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.