Left Party to focus on job security
Labour laws will be at the centre of Sweden’s Left Party’s agenda going forward, party leader Jonas Sjöstedt announced during his May Day speech in Uppsala.
Sjöstedt outlined a plan with three concrete changes that he wants to achieve in the next four years.
“We believe the government has been too passive. We’re seeing a clear misuse of temp agencies. We’re seeing entire industries, like the airlines and the media, where companies hardly want to hire any permanent employees at all,” Sjöstedt said.
According to the Left Party, currently 620,000 Swedes hold insecure jobs and this issue will be the party’s main focus as it tries to lobby the Social Democrat-Green Party government going forward.
By next year, the Left Party wants Sweden’s “general temporary employment” form to be removed so that the employer must be able to motivate why they have offered someone a temporary job. By 2017, employers should be banned from hiring staff to perform tasks that are a permanent feature of their company. And by 2018, the Left Party wants full-time employment to be the norm.
Sjöstedt insisted his plan is realistic, saying: “There is massive support for this within the trade-union movement. I believe the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and others expect something to happen. Ahead of the election, the Social Democrats promised to do something about full-time employment and the misuse of temp agencies,” he added.
