Sweden: a united union front reflecting lessons learnt during the 2016 negotiations

2017 will be a busy year with some 500 collective agreements open for negotiation. This time round however the 2016 dispersed individual approach will be shunned by the LO union confederation members. Aware of the damage caused by dissention during the previous year, on 19 October the members opted for a united front with one set of common demands. However to actually get to that position they had to review a certain number of their own premises, especially as regards wages.
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Lessons from the past. During the 2016 negotiations and marking a first since 1990, several trade unions decided not to adhere to the set of demands as presented by the umbrella body Facken Inom Industri* (c.f. article No. 9634). Traditionally this agreement is seen as the ‘reference’ to follow because the industry sector is the one that is most exposed to competition and must remain competitive. However a number of trade unions regarded this policy as not being beneficial to their own members,

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