News

*This information originally appeared on Handels website in Swedish and was translated into English by UNI.



UNI affiliate Handels, the Commercial Employees' Union in Sweden, and the Swedish trade federation Svensk Handel concluded a new agreement for employees in the retail and wholesale sectors on Thursday. The agreement includes the commitment to meet the union’s claim for equal pay. The agreement provides wage increases of SEK 710 for shop workers and SEK 665 for warehouse employees. The agreement runs for 12 months.



“We are very pleased with this agreement which is in line with the LO coordination. We have gained support for our demands for equal pay, for which other LO unions announced solidarity action to support us. We have reached an agreement that will take us a significant step towards achieving equal pay and we have managed to avoid a conflict,” said Lars-Anders Häggström, Handel’s President.



Handels has also pushed through its claims to limit the ability to stack fixed-term contracts on top of each other. Under the agreement, temporary workers have the right to permanent employment after a year with the same employer.



“We have also created opportunities for young people to enter the workplace and enhance their professional role by concluding an agreement on professional practice (internships) for young people under 21. This is our contribution to reducing youth unemployment. We are very proud of this,” Häggström said.



In the agreement the parties have also regulated trade union influence when employers hire agency workers. Priority rules in accordance with LAS, the Act on Employment Security, shall apply for part-timers who wish to work more hours. The parties also agree that the number of full-time positions must increase in order to strengthen and develop the industry.



“It's been a tough round of negotiations and we negotiated until the very end. The result is a great victory for our demands for equal pay and employment security, including the fixed-term issue, the right to full-time and trade union influence in hiring of agency workers,” Häggström said.



The parties further agreed to appoint a number of joint working groups.

The agreement is valid from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013.