Ministry of Employment

On 22 January, the ILO’s centenary was launched in Geneva. The centenary, which will run throughout 2019, focuses on the future of work and forms part of the ILO’s long-term strategy for creating a decent and sustainable working life worldwide.

The Government today appointed 31 state secretaries at the Government Offices. Former state secretaries have been dismissed from their positions. Most of the state secretaries have previously held corresponding positions at the Government Offices.

Minister for Employment and Integration Ylva Johansson will take part in the signing ceremony in Madrid when Spain joins the Global Deal. This makes Spain the 100th partner, and the 20th government, to join the global partnership.

The formal rights for LGBT persons in Sweden have been strengthened through various reforms. This has involved changes in the law, including the introduction of a principle of non-discrimination, enhanced rights in family law and anti-hate crime initiatives. What follows is a chronological overview of several reforms put in place to strengthen and promote equal rights for LGBT persons.

In recent years, a number of reforms have been introduced in order to secure equal rights for LGBT persons. There has also been a positive societal development regarding these issues which has helped to ensure a better situation for LGBT persons in Sweden. However, LGBT persons, in particular transgender persons, still face difficulties in Sweden. The government is therefore taking further measures for equal rights for LGBT persons. You can find out more about these measures in the leaflet in the link on the righthand side of this article.

Everyone who can work should work. More people need to learn Swedish faster and more people who need an education to find work should take the initiative to study. In its 2018 spring amending budget, the Government is therefore investing in strengthening paths to work for more people. The Government is also providing more resources for preventive efforts against sexual harassment in working life, regional safety representatives and summer jobs for more young people.

On 19 April 2018, the Government appointed Nader Ahmadi as Director-General and head of SAWEE. Most recently, he was pro vice-chancellor of the University of Gävle. Mr Ahmadi will be the first Director-General of the newly established agency when he takes up his post on 1 June 2018.

The Government has decided to present the Government Bill "Contractor liability for wage claims in the construction industry" to the Riksdag. The aim is to strengthen protection for employees and counter corner-cutting and criminal activities, while safeguarding the opportunities for the social partners to regulate contractor liability in collective agreements.

Non-official translation. Amendments: up to and including SFS 2016:1271.

The Government and the social partners have agreed that ‘entry agreements’ should be introduced. The aim is to help newly arrived immigrants and long-term unemployed people to become established in the labour market, and to facilitate future skills provision for employers.

One of the Swedish Government’s gender equality policy sub-goals is that men’s violence against women must stop. With reference to #metoo, the following lists some examples of implemented and forthcoming measures to counteract sexual violence, harassment and assault.

Non-official translation. Amendments: up to and including Swedish Code of Statutes 2017:320.

Non-official translation.

The Prime Minister, together with the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has invited to a social summit focusing on the promotion of Fair Jobs and growth, in Gothenburg on Friday 17 November. Heads of State and heads of Governments together with other EU-member ministers will be in place.

The Ministry of Employment provides non-official translations of some labour legislation.

To strengthen national and international work environment efforts, the Government has today decided to establish a new government agency for work environment awareness. The agency is to be situated in Gävle and will start operations on 1 June 2018.

Everyone who can work should work and contribute to our common welfare. This is why, in the autumn budget, the Government is investing in strengthening labour market measures and the integration of new arrivals. The Government is reforming the system of subsidised employment and introducing a new, uniform supportive measure – introductory jobs. The Government is also strengthening efforts for a sustainable working life by establishing a new agency for work environment awareness and allocating funds for the development of methods to combat unfair competition. Moreover, the Government is investing in measures to continue creating a sustainable reception system and ensuring the effective integration of newly arrived immigrants. The paths to employment will be strengthened through a new regulatory framework for Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish public employment service) on the integration of new arrivals and the introduction of an education and training obligation. The Budget Bill for 2018 is based on an agreement between the Government and the Left Party.

The regulations for posting in Sweden are based on the employee organisations having main responsibility for monitoring working and employment conditions for employees posted to Sweden. At the same time, the Swedish Work Environment Authority supervises the working environment of those posted. In order for this control and supervision to function, an amended regulatory framework for notification obligation for posting is proposed in a ministry memorandum from the Ministry of Employment.

Conditions in the transport sector are important in relation to the Government’s work for fair working conditions in the labour market. In a ministry memorandum from the Ministry of Employment, amendments to the Posting of Workers Act are proposed with the aim of clarifying the applicability of the regulatory framework to the carriage of goods by road and improving supervision and regulatory compliance.