A total of 7,527 working days were lost in Sweden last year due to industrial action, a big increase from the 50 working days lost to strikes and lockouts during 2018, and also up from the 2,570 days lost in 2017. Major conflicts between both port workers and SAS pilots and their employers led to the high figure, according to the annual report from the National Mediation Institute. Last year, only 20 new collective bargaining agreements were signed, whereas this year, 500 are set to be re-negotiated. That means almost three million people in Sweden will get new collective bargaining agreements due to negotiations between trade unions and workplaces, which could cause further industrial action. Compared to other European countries including Finland, Norway, and Denmark, Sweden has a comparatively low strike rate. One reason is the fact that the Mediation Institute must be informed if unions are considering strikes, which means that conflicts can often be resolved by mediation first.
- The Local -