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WORKING IN SWEDEN

Historic strike called off after Klarna agrees to collective bargaining agreement

A strike at Swedish payment giant Klarna has been called off after the company agreed to sign a collective bargaining agreement.

Published: 4 November 2023 06:32 CET
Updated: 4 November 2023 12:08 CET
Historic strike called off after Klarna agrees to collective bargaining agreement
Klarna's headquarters in Stockholm. Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SvD/TT

“It’s a victory and we should all be celebrating. I’m very happy that we didn’t have to strike,” Swedish news agency TT quoted Sen Kanner, chair of the Unionen trade union club at Klarna, as saying.

Unionen and Engineers of Sweden walked out of talks last month after six months of negotiations, threatening industrial action unless the company signed a collective bargaining agreement. Another three unions pledged to launch sympathy strikes, which are legal in Sweden.

But with the help of a mediator, Klarna and the unions managed to reach agreement on Friday.

“I am pleased that we have struck a deal which combines Klarna’s agility with the clarity of the Swedish model. I am convinced that we will benefit from this deal and that Klarna will be able to contribute to making the Swedish model stronger from the inside,” Klarna CEO and co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in a statement.

A joint press release from Unionen and Klarna stated that Klarna would join BAO (The Employers of the Financial Sector) from the start of 2024, which means it will be covered by a collective agreement between BAO and the trade unions Finansförbundet, Engineers of Sweden and Akavia.

Collective agreements have long been a staple of the so-called “Swedish model”, which prefers employers and unions to negotiate working conditions between themselves rather than having detailed legislation.

But although nine out of ten employees in Sweden are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, they are less common in newer industries such as the startup and tech scenes.

Those in favour of collective agreements argue that they are an essential part of the Swedish model, ensuring good and equal contracts for everyone. Those against argue that up-and-coming businesses in the modern labour market need more flexibility than these deals offer.

The latest Swedish tech boom means that some of the country’s biggest companies are today companies that are not covered by collective bargaining agreements. Spotify walked out of negotiations to set up a collective agreement for its Sweden-based staff earlier this year.

The Swedish metalworkers’ union IF Metall is currently striking at Tesla due to the electric carmaker’s refusal to sign a collective agreement.

If the strike at Klarna had broken out from November 7th onwards as planned, it would have been historic. The Engineers of Sweden union has never gone on strike since it was founded in 2007. Unionen last went on strike ten years ago, but for some of the other unions involved their last strike dates back decades.

Editor’s note: The article has been updated to clarify that Klarna has not yet signed a collective agreement, but will do so from next year.

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READER INSIGHTS

What can Sweden do to make life easier for ‘trailing spouses’?

Foreigners who move to Sweden on their partner's work permit are often at a disadvantage compared to their partner, not always having a job lined up or the same access to a professional network. What can Sweden and Swedish companies do to help them integrate?

Published: 30 May 2024 14:20 CEST
What can Sweden do to make life easier for 'trailing spouses'?

It is often said that personal contacts are the key to seven out of ten jobs in Sweden, and as accompanying partners usually land in the country without many contacts of their own, networking is absolutely crucial.

Networking can come in many shapes and forms. For one thing: social networking. Several readers who responded to The Local’s recent survey for so-called trailing spouses suggested the most important thing to them was not finding a job, but community.

“Getting a job seems to be more about who you know. Providing networking or even just social events where family are included could be interesting,” said an anonymous reader from the US.

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Darya, a reader based in Malmö, said her husband’s company had helped a lot, including organising after-work events for employees’ families, to help them make new connections.

But career networking is also important, or even helping trailing spouses find a short-term internship to get them a foot through the door and a chance at establishing professional contacts.

Darya was one of few readers who said she had received active assistance from her partner’s employer in terms of trying to find a job, including the company head giving her advice on her resume and offering to introduce her to another company she might be interested in working for.

“I think my husband’s company sets a good example by having the management try to help spouses find jobs or freelance work. In fact, I can always reach out to the employees at his company and ask for help with setting up my own business, for instance. I am still warming up to this idea and trying to figure things out on my own because I always feel uncomfortable bothering someone, but I am confident that they will help me navigate all the details,” she said.

The majority of readers said they had received no support from Swedish authorities or their partner’s workplace, but those who had received support mainly mentioned help with the residency permit application, networking, and language training.

“My partner’s company made it extremely easy for me to tie my visa to my partner’s, which made this process so smooth. They paid for our move which was also incredible. That’s kind of where it stopped though. There hasn’t been any job support which is unfortunate, and they kind of misled us about how much Swedish I would actually need. I would have started studying much earlier had I known it would be such a deciding factor,” said Taylor from the US, who’s based in Stockholm.

Several other readers also mentioned being caught off guard by how many employers required them to know the Swedish. Some did say that English skills had got them far in the country and they were able to start working while learning Swedish, but others said that wasn’t possible.

“Offer Swedish language courses at a free or subsidised rate. Provide links and contacts into the industries that trailing spouses have left behind, or wish to transition into,” suggested Thomas from the UK.

Readers also urged Swedish companies to be more open to non-Swedish speakers.

“Not insisting on bilingual skills straight away would help. Remembering retirement age is 67 so even older people have a lot of time to give,” said Helen, a banker and financier from the UK.

A Brazilian reader also pointed out that not all immigrants are fluent in English either.

“Although there are Swedish classes for immigrants, if you don’t speak English well (like me), it is not easy to make friends and engage in long conversations. We have to learn both languages. Generally, the immigrants have an English base, but it may not be sufficient to find a job,” she said, suggesting that companies provide professional learning programmes and English courses.

Many readers also called for more information. Several complained that Swedish authorities and companies hadn’t been open about how hard it can be to break into Swedish society.

Few of them suggested that having that information would have turned them off; rather they argued that realistic expectations would have made them better equipped to hit the ground running in Sweden.

The majority of the readers who responded to The Local’s survey were either generally happy with their life in Sweden or a bit conflicted, but few of them said they were unhappy. Many however said they wished that the start of their journey had been just a little, little bit easier.

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