Research project An inclusive and sustainable Swedish labour law – the way ahead
The Swedish labour law model with its characteristics – an extremely high collective agreement coverage without government intervention and independent trade unions and employers’ organizations – has been well suited to handle rapid development and change. The model has long delivered both economic growth and good employment conditions.
Project description
In recent times, however, it has been shown to have shortcomings. More and more employees fall outside the protection afforded by Swedish labour law. The shortcomings become particularly clear for groups where the degree of trade unionism is low, such as for young workers and labour migrants.
In this research project, we analyze how this development is expressed in three specific labour law fields: pay, particularly the minimum wage, psychosocial work environment, and working conditions for foreign workers. We will integrate these three Swedish studies in a comparative study between Sweden and the United Kingdom in a fourth part.
One purpose of this is to investigate whether similar mechanisms that formed the basis for the British decision to leave the EU can be discerned in Swedish law. The comparative part highlights the dangers of a polarized labour market where more people end up outside labour law protection.
The purpose of the research project is to explain why current labour law cannot provide comprehensive protection in the three areas studied and propose alternative legal solutions to create an inclusive and sustainable labour law that is adapted to a changing labour market.
The project is funded by the Swedish Research Council. It has been going on for three years and will be completed in 2021.
Project members
Members
Erik Akseli Sjödin
Senior lecturer
Niklas Bruun
Gästprofessor
Petra Herzfeld Olsson
Professor, prodekan
