The entire Swedish pensions system is about to be reformed. The present state system, dating back to 1957, was a product of its time and was not designed to operate within a context of low economic growth, high inflation and an ageing population which, due to improved health, lives much longer than
The traditional Swedish "full employment" model is coming under increasing threat from a number of sources. Higher levels of unemployment, structural changes in both the public and private sector, "downsizing" and a decrease in the numbers employed in the public sector have all had an influence on
Two forest products industry (ie wood, paper etc) multinationals, the Swedish-owned Stora and the Finnish-owned Enso plan to enter into a full merger in December 1998, creating the largest company operating in the sector. The European Commission is conducting an investigation into the merger, since
Contractor, free agent, self-employed, freelancer - there are many names for people selling their competence, skills, services and labour without having an employment contract. Even if Sweden, together with Denmark, has the lowest figures in the EU (8% of the total occupied labour force compared
In May 1998, the Swedish Parliament adopted amendments to the Act on Equality between Men and Women, based on a government bill entitled /Peace for women/ (Kvinnofrid), aimed at combating violence against women. Three reports formed the basis for the bill: an investigation into prostitution; the
The 1998 bargaining round was still not entirely completed in late June 1998. Even though the parties in most sectors have agreed pay increases (SE9806190F [1]), around 700 members of the Painters' Union (Målareförbundet) are on strike - the only one so far in the bargaining round - and all the
Following the Employment Summit [1] in Luxembourg in November 1997 (EU9711168F [2]), EU Member States agreed a set of Employment Guidelines [3] aimed at providing a framework for national action under four main "pillars" - employability, adaptability, entrepreneurship and equal opportunities. Each