Swedish Trade Union Confederation

History

Organisation

The thirteen affiliates of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation span both the private and the public sector. The member unions are fully independent, with the role of the Confederation limited to the co-ordination of wage bargaining, international activities, trade union education and other areas. Another important task is to promote the organisation's views to decision-makers and the general public. It also has representatives on the governing bodies of many government authorities. The Confederation is also responsible for research and signing labour market insurance schemes. The member unions, however, carry the responsibility for the administration of the unemployment insurance funds.

While its Danish sister organisation, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions, cut its formal ties to the country's Social Democratic party in 1995, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation maintains a strong cooperation with the Social Democrats. Although the organisations are independent from each other, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation has a representative on the party's executive committee elected by the Party Congress. Also, both the Confederation and the member unions contribute substantial amounts of money to the party.

Until 1987 there was a system of collective membership in the Social Democratic Party for members in the confederation, in which the local union could apply for membership in the Social Democratic Party, effectively enrolling all its members into the Social Democratic Party. (An individual could decline to be part of this collective membership.)

In 1956 social democratic newspaper Stockholms-Tidningen was acquired by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0F6U82kZXjsC&pg=PA18|year=2003|publisher=IFLA Publications|isbn=978-3-11-096279-6|page=18

The number of member unions has been reduced by mergers. Most recently the Swedish Painters' Union merged into the Swedish Building Workers' Union in May 2024

Affiliates

Current affiliates

Former affiliates

List of chairmen

• Fredrik Sterky, 1898–1900
• Herman Lindqvist, 1900–1920
• Arvid Thorberg, 1920–1930
• Edvard Johanson, 1930–1936
• Albert Forslund, February–September 1936
• August Lindberg, 1936–1947
• Axel Strand, 1947–1956
• Arne Geijer, 1956–1973
• Gunnar Nilsson, 1973–1983
• Stig Malm, 1983–1993
• Bertil Jonsson, 1994–2000
• Wanja Lundby-Wedin, 2000—2012
• Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson, 2012–2020
• Susanna Gideonsson, 2020–2024
• Johan Lindholm, 2024–present

References

References

1. (20 May 2024). "Efter avhoppet: Byggnads ordförande vald till ny LO-boss". Altinget.
2. Torvald Karlbom ''Den svenska fackföreningsrörelsen'', Stockholm: Tidens förlag, pp. 45-47
3. Yearly average in 2019. See Anders Kjellberg (2020) [https://portal.research.lu.se/portal/en/publications/kollektivavtalens-tackningsgrad-samt-organisationsgraden-hos-arbetsgivarfoerbund-och-fackfoerbund(384bb031-c144-442b-a02b-44099819d605).html ''Kollektivavtalens täckningsgrad samt organisationsgraden hos arbetsgivarförbund och fackförbund''], Department of Sociology, Lund University. Studies in Social Policy, Industrial Relations, Working Life and Mobility. Research Reports 2020:1, Appendix 3 (in English) Table A
4. Anders Kjellberg [http://portal.research.lu.se/portal/files/3462138/2064087.pdf "The Decline in Swedish Union Density since 2007"] ''Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies'' (NJWLS) Vol. 1. No 1 (August 2011), pp. 67-93
5. Anders Kjellberg and Christian Lyhne Ibsen (2016) [https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/ws/files/21682547/Kjellberg_og_Ibsen_2016_ur_Due_og_Madsen.pdf "Attacks on union organizing: Reversible and irreversible changes to the Ghent-systems in Sweden and Denmark"], in Trine Pernille Larsen and Anna Ilsøe (eds.)(2016) ''Den Danske Model set udefra - komparative perspektiver på dansk arbejdsmarkedsregulering'', Copenhagen: Jurist- og Økonomforbundets Forlag, p. 292
6. "This is LO".
7. "Målarna går upp i Byggnads".
8. (2017). "The Membership Development of Swedish Trade Unions and Union Confederations Since the End of the Nineteenth Century". Lund University.
9. (2017). "The Membership Development of Swedish Trade Unions and Union Confederations Since the End of the Nineteenth Century". Lund University.
10. (2017). "The Membership Development of Swedish Trade Unions and Union Confederations Since the End of the Nineteenth Century". Lund University.
11. (1955). "Directory of Labor Organizations: Europe". United States Department of Labor.
12. (20 May 2024). "Efter avhoppet: Byggnads ordförande vald till ny LO-boss". Altinget.