Swedish biggest labour Unions LO calls for restriction to labour immigration
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Swedish labour union, LO has called for a severe limit to overseas
labour immigration for low grade jobs such as cleaners, construction
workers and restaurant employees.
The Swedish Trade Union Confederation, LO, which is the central
organisation for 14 affiliates which organise workers within both the
private and the public sectors believe that after four years of
deregulated labour immigration to Sweden more illegal workers have been
recruited than before 2008 when the rules were changed, LO claims in a
report presented today.
The situation today is more cheating and exploitation of those who come
to Sweden to work and the situation is very wide. LO suspect that half
of all work in the areas they have examined, the workers receive their
payments through cash thus leaving no trace of accounting and auditing.
"When this reform was launched a number of promises were made and part
of it was that this will facilitate integration. It would be a positive
signal when talking about labour movement but that has not been the
case," said Thord Ingesson, migration, political analyst at LO.
It was in 2008 that the new rules regarding labour immigration was
introduced which in practice meant that it was no longer the need for
labour in different industries that determine who gets to come to
Sweden to look for work. Any body who met certain conditions could just
come to Sweden and search for work while in Sweden.
However, the reform has failed, according to LO. Many who came here to
be employed have had it hard to get a job in time. The process of
obtaining a work is long and thus those working illegally have only
increased.
Of the migrant workers who come from outside the EU and EEA, two of
three go to industries where there is no labour shortage, according to
Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, and it is a problem according to Thord
Ingesson.
"In industries where there is already high unemployment and is easy to
access workforce, something else is driving employers to keep
recruiting from abroad. One thought is that they gets cheap labour for
almost nothing compared to employing a home based Swedish worker," said
Thord Ingesson
To deal with these problems LO has looked and determined that there
should be changes, such as to reinstate the rules which were previously
in place for social labour needs such that manpower requirement
reflecting permanent employment and leading to permanent
residency.
Labour migration needs to decrease according to LO, so the question is
if it means that LO believes that labour immigration takes jobs from
Swedes.
"We have a pretty high unemployment in Sweden but it has nothing to do
with these rules for the labour immigration. However, it is clear that
it will be hard to limit the labour immigration in occupations where
there are labour shortages. However, but in the areas where there is
already high unemployment, great competition, can absolutely see
something in that direction," says Thord Ingesson of LO to radio Sweden.
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