The agreement signed on April 2, 2013 between Teknikarbetsgivarna (technological employers’ organization) and its union counterparts – Unionen (private sector), Sveriges Ingenjörer (engineering) and IF Metall (metalworking) – includes the 6.8 percent wage increase over 3 years decided in manufacturing but greatly takes skills into consideration. It also gives businesses more flexibility in the organization of labor and in pay negotiations. The agreement will run between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2016 and cover 300,000 employees in companies such as Volvo, Ericsson, Sandvik (engineering), LKAB (mining) or Astrazeneca (pharmacy). (Ref. 130401)
More flexible hours. Anders Weihe, in charge of bargaining for the employers’ organization, is most happy with this advancement as this agreement allows employers to change working time more even without unions’ consent. “This was a priority for us” he says, “It’s natural for our employers to have the possibility of more flexibility.” With this in mind, 3 elements were changed:
1) They took 12 minutes off the time that can be put on the bank of hours. This way, employees can add to their ban
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