2023-04-272022/23:AU8 · p.7AULabour market
Local safety representatives and safety committees
Who can be appointed as a local safety representative
What's at stake: The outcome affects who can become a local safety representative at Swedish workplaces and thus how local work-environment efforts are organized, particularly at a time when union membership is declining.
Case texts and AI reasoning are AI-translated from the Swedish originals; the Swedish text is authoritative.
What the vote decides
The vote concerns whether trade unions' current exclusive right to appoint local safety representatives should remain, or whether it should be abolished so that any employee, regardless of union affiliation, can be appointed as a safety representative.
Yes Yes — the committee proposal
The committee rejects the motions. It sets out its view of how the Work Environment Authority's supervision is structured: inspections are planned and coordinated nationally and regionally based on where risks are greatest, with selection based on injury statistics, reports and horizon-scanning, and the authority has in recent years specifically targeted efforts at organizational and social work environment issues such as threats, violence and degrading treatment. Against that background, the committee sees no reason to change the current arrangement for how local safety representatives are appointed.
No No — the reservations
Reservation 11 (SD)
The reservation argues that trade unions' exclusive right to appoint local safety representatives should be abolished. It holds that the current arrangement in practice shuts out a large number of employees — including those politically active in parties other than the Social Democrats — from becoming safety representatives despite having the knowledge, engagement and trust of colleagues, describing this as a politicization of work-environment efforts. Instead, the power to appoint safety representatives should rest with the employees at the workplace, without restrictions, particularly as union membership is declining.
Summarised from the committee report. Party labels in the summary come from the report, not from the vote.
What do the votes mean here?
Yes The committee proposal: rejecting the motions (keeping things as they are).
No Backing the counter-proposal: reservation 11 by SD.
Abstain The party marks a position of its own that is not one of the two final alternatives.
What each plan points to — and how the party voted
For each party: the vote its own election manifesto and party programme point to in this case, next to how the party actually voted. A plan can only point to Yes or No; a party can also abstain.
| Plan | Vote | Confidence | Evidence | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | Yes | Abstain 0/0/20/4 | departs from the plan | confidence: high | not addressed |
| S | Yes | Yes 94/0/0/13 | follows the plan | confidence: high | not addressed |
| MP | Yes | Yes 16/0/0/2 | follows the plan | confidence: high | not addressed |
| C | No | Yes 20/0/0/4 | departs from the plan | confidence: low | not addressed |
| L | Yes | Yes 13/0/0/3 | follows the plan | confidence: low | not addressed |
| KD | Yes | Yes 16/0/0/3 | follows the plan | confidence: low | derived |
| M | No | Yes 60/0/0/8 | departs from the plan | confidence: medium | not addressed |
| SD | No | No 0/63/0/10 | follows the plan | confidence: high | explicit |
Committee proposal
The Riksdag rejects the motions 2022/23:57 by Ciczie Weidby et al. (V) demands 6-8 and 18, 2022/23:961 by Magnus Persson et al. (SD) demand 15 and 2022/23:1558 by Aida Birinxhiku et al. (S).
Original (Swedish)
Riksdagen avslår motionerna 2022/23:57 av Ciczie Weidby m.fl. (V) yrkandena 6-8 och 18, 2022/23:961 av Magnus Persson m.fl. (SD) yrkande 15 och 2022/23:1558 av Aida Birinxhiku m.fl. (S).
Riksdag decision: The Riksdag rejected approximately 80 proposals in motions from the general motion period of 2022 concerning work environment and working hours. The Riksdag refers, among other things, to ongoing work and to the parties' responsibility in the Swedish labor market. The motions concern, for example, preventive work environment activities, labor market crime, safety representatives and safety committees, the Swedish Work Environment Authority and the Working Hours Act.
Counter-proposals
- The counter-proposal wants to extend the statute of limitations for workplace crime investigations to support investigation of these complex cases. (SD) — Reservation 11
Plan vs actual vote
Every party, in chamber order: what its own plan pointed to, how it voted, and the reasoning behind both. Highlighted rows are where the two differ — but a vote that follows the plan is a result too, so the reasoning is there for every party.
The plan's crucial commitment is that legislation should strengthen the unions' influence over the working environment and that local union rights should be expanded with veto power and interpretation precedence.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan's crucial commitment is that legislation should strengthen the unions' influence over the working environment and that local union rights should be expanded with veto power and interpretation precedence. Abolishing the unions' sole right to appoint local safety representatives goes in the exact opposite direction and weakens the party the plan wants to strengthen. The demand is therefore rejected.
Original (Swedish)
Planens avgörande åtagande är att lagstiftningen ska stärka fackens inflytande över arbetsmiljön och att de lokala fackliga rättigheterna ska byggas ut med vetorätt och tolkningsföreträde. Att avskaffa den fackliga ensamrätten att utse lokala skyddsombud går i rakt motsatt riktning och svagar den part planen vill stärka. Kravet avvisas därför.
- union influence over working environmentdecisive»Lagen ska stärka fackens inflytande« (party programme ↗)“The law shall strengthen unions' influence”
- strengthened local union rights»De lokala fackliga rättigheterna bör stärkas genom ökade« (party programme ↗)“Local union rights should be strengthened through increased”
- defence of bargaining rights»Vänsterpartiet kommer att fortsätta försvara förhandlingsrätten och en stark arbetsrättslagstiftning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party will continue to defend bargaining rights and strong labour law legislation.”
- central role of unions»Fackens och kollektivavtalens roll är central både för ekonomin och demokratin.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Unions' and collective agreements' role is central to both the economy and democracy.”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
The party programme makes strong union organizations necessary to assert employees' common interests in precisely working environment matters, and gives the union movement a central role in wage-earners' influence.
Plan documents: party programme · 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The party programme makes strong union organizations necessary to assert employees' common interests in precisely working environment matters, and gives the union movement a central role in wage-earners' influence. The election manifesto rests on trust in the parties. Dismantling the union organizations' right to appoint local safety representatives would weaken this order and thus goes against the plan. The appointment of safety representatives is not explicitly mentioned, so the conclusion is derived.
Original (Swedish)
Partiprogrammet gör starka fackliga organisationer till nödvändiga för att hävda de anställdas gemensamma intressen i just arbetsmiljöfrågor, och ger fackföreningsrörelsen en central roll i löntagarnas inflytande. Valmanifestet vilar på förtroende för parterna. Att avveckla de fackliga organisationernas rätt att utse lokala skyddsombud skulle svaga denna ordning och går därmed emot planen. Skyddsombudens utseende nämns inte uttryckligen, varför slutsatsen härleds.
- strong union organizationsdecisive»organisationer är nödvändiga för att hävda de anställdas gemensamma intressen vad gäller« (party programme ↗)“organizations are necessary to assert employees' common interests regarding”
- union's central role»I denna strävan har fackföreningsrörelsen en central« (party programme ↗)“In this effort, the union movement has a central”
- trust in the parties' model»Vi värnar Riksbankens oberoende och ansvar för att stabilisera den allmänna prisnivån och tror på parternas förmåga att ta ansvar för lönebildningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We value the Riksbank's independence and responsibility for stabilizing the general price level and believe in the parties' ability to take responsibility for wage formation.”
The plan's decisive commitment is to cherish the Swedish model, where the parties jointly negotiate what applies on the labor market, and that union organization should be encouraged.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan's decisive commitment is to cherish the Swedish model, where the parties jointly negotiate what applies on the labor market, and that union organization should be encouraged. Abolishing unions' right to appoint local safety representatives would weaken precisely the arrangement the plan wants to strengthen. The plan instead wants to cherish functioning labor law and workers' influence over the work environment.
Original (Swedish)
Planens avgörande åtagande är att värna den svenska modellen, där parterna gemensamt förhandlar om vad som gäller på arbetsmarknaden, och att den fackliga organiseringen bör uppmuntras. Att avskaffa fackens rätt att utse lokala skyddsombud skulle svaga just den ordning planen vill stärka. Planen vill i stället värna en fungerande arbetsrätt och arbetstagarnas inflytande över arbetsmiljön.
- cherish the Swedish modeldecisive»Vi värnar den svenska modellen där arbetsmarknadens parter gemensamt förhandlar« (party programme ↗)“We cherish the Swedish model where the labor market parties jointly negotiate”
- encourage union organization»Modellen bygger på att en hög andel av arbetstagarna är fackföreningsanslutna« (party programme ↗)“The model is based on a high proportion of workers being union members”
- cherish labor law»Vi vill värna en fungerande arbetsrätt« (party programme ↗)“We want to cherish functioning labor law”
- right to good work environment»god fysisk och psykosocial arbetsmiljö.« (party programme ↗)“good physical and psychosocial work environment.”
The plan is built on freedom of association that explicitly includes the freedom to refrain from organizing, and on formal structures that exclude people must be combated.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan is built on freedom of association that explicitly includes the freedom to refrain from organizing, and on formal structures that exclude people must be combated. Having employees themselves elect safety representatives without membership requirements follows that principle and the requirement that labour market rules must protect all equally. At the same time, the plan wants the parties to set the rules, which makes the conclusion uncertain.
Original (Swedish)
Planen bygger på en föreningsfrihet som uttryckligen omfattar friheten att avstå från att organisera sig, och på att formella strukturer som utestänger människor ska bekämpas. Att låta de anställda själva utse skyddsombud utan medlemskrav följer den principen och kravet att arbetsmarknadens regler ska skydda alla lika. Samtidigt vill planen att parterna sätter spelreglerna, vilket gör slutsatsen osäker.
- negative freedom of associationdecisive»som även innefattar frihet att avstå från religion och från att organisera sig.« (party programme ↗)“which also includes freedom to refrain from religion and from organizing.”
- no exclusionary structures»Vi bekämpar alla strukturer, formella och informella, som förtrycker eller diskriminerar människor.« (party programme ↗)“We combat all structures, formal and informal, that oppress or discriminate against people.”
- rules must protect all equally»Reglerna på arbetsmarknaden ska i lika hög grad skydda« (party programme ↗)“Rules in the labour market must equally protect”
- the parties set the rules»arbetsmarknadens parter i stället för genom lagstiftning.« (party programme ↗)“the labour market parties rather than through legislation.”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
The plan says nothing about how local safety representatives are appointed.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan says nothing about how local safety representatives are appointed. The nearest principle is that trade union freedom and collective agreements are an important part of freedom of association and freedom of contract and that conditions in the labour market should in essence be determined through agreements and not in law. To legislate away the role of trade union organizations is therefore further from the plan than maintaining today's arrangements; the conclusion is uncertain.
Original (Swedish)
Planen säger inget om hur lokala skyddsombud utses. Den närmast liggande principen är att den fackliga friheten och kollektivavtalen är en viktig del av förenings- och avtalsfriheten och att villkoren på arbetsmarknaden i huvudsak ska bestämmas genom avtal och inte i lag. Att lagstifta bort de fackliga organisationernas roll ligger därför längre från planen än att behålla dagens ordning; slutsatsen är osäker.
- trade union freedom and collective agreementsdecisive»Den fackliga friheten och möjligheten till kollektivavtal är en viktig del av förenings- och avtalsfriheten.« (party programme ↗)“Trade union freedom and the possibility of collective agreements are an important part of freedom of association and freedom of contract.”
- conditions in agreements not in law»svenska arbetsmarknadsmodellen, där villkoren i huvudsak bestäms genom avtal och inte i lag, bidrar till« (party programme ↗)“the Swedish labour market model, where conditions are determined mainly through agreements and not in law, contributes to”
The plan's decisive commitment is that strong and politically independent trade unions are an indispensable part of a democratic society and that labour market organization should be done by the parties themselves.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The plan's decisive commitment is that strong and politically independent trade unions are an indispensable part of a democratic society and that labour market organization should be done by the parties themselves. Legislating away trade unions' right to appoint local safety representatives goes against that division of roles. The plan's requirements for functioning laws against all discrimination in working life, however, provide support for the objection that workers should not be excluded.
Original (Swedish)
Planens avgörande åtagande är att starka och partipolitiskt oberoende fackföreningar är en oundgänglig del av ett demokratiskt samhälle och att utformningen på arbetsmarknaden ska göras av parterna själva. Att lagstifta bort fackens rätt att utse lokala skyddsombud går emot den rollfördelningen. Planens krav på fungerande lagar mot all diskriminering i arbetslivet ger dock stöd för invändningen att löntagare inte ska utestängas.
- strong trade unionsdecisive»Starka och partipolitiskt oberoende fackföreningar« (party programme ↗)“Strong and politically independent trade unions”
- the parties shape the order»Utformningen ska göras av arbetsmarknadens parter.« (party programme ↗)“The design shall be done by the parties of the labour market.”
- workers' influence»Därför är löntagarnas inflytande viktigt« (party programme ↗)“Therefore workers' influence is important”
- no exclusion in working life»Väl fungerande lagar mot all diskriminering i arbetslivet ska finnas.« (party programme ↗)“Well-functioning laws against all discrimination in working life shall exist.”
The programme's overarching stance is to assert the individual against collectivism and that freedoms and rights belong to individuals, never collectives.
Plan documents: party programme
Reasoning and quotes
The programme's overarching stance is to assert the individual against collectivism and that freedoms and rights belong to individuals, never collectives. An arrangement where an organisation has sole authority to appoint safety representatives and thereby excludes individual employees contradicts that principle, and the counter-proposal's demand that power be placed with employees themselves follows it. Safety representatives' appointment is not explicitly addressed in the documents.
Original (Swedish)
Programmets bärande hållning är att hävda individen mot kollektivismen och att fri- och rättigheter tillhör individer, aldrig kollektiv. En ordning där en organisation har ensamrätt att utse skyddsombud och därmed utestänger enskilda anställda strider mot den principen, och motförslagets krav att makten läggs hos de anställda själva följer den. Skyddsombudens utseende berörs inte uttryckligen i dokumenten.
- the individual against collectivismdecisive»hävda individen mot kollektivismen« (party programme ↗)“assert the individual against collectivism”
- rights belong to individuals»Fri- och rättigheter tillhör individer och aldrig« (party programme ↗)“Freedoms and rights belong to individuals and never”
- equal right to choose»Rätten att välja väg tillhör alla.« (party programme ↗)“The right to choose one's path belongs to all.”
The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.
The plan explicitly wants to depoliticise occupational health and safety work by phasing out politically controlled trade unions' preferential right to appoint safety representatives.
Plan documents: 2022 manifesto
Reasoning and quotes
The plan explicitly wants to depoliticise occupational health and safety work by phasing out politically controlled trade unions' preferential right to appoint safety representatives. The power to appoint local safety representatives shall instead lie with employees at the workplace, which is exactly what the counter-proposal demands. The plan also establishes that all employees regardless of union membership shall be included in occupational health and safety work.
Original (Swedish)
Planen vill uttryckligen avpolitisera arbetsmiljöarbetet genom att avveckla politiskt styrda fackförbunds företrädesrätt att utse skyddsombud. Makten att utse lokala skyddsombud ska i stället ligga hos medarbetarna på arbetsplatsen, vilket är exakt vad motförslaget kräver. Planen slår också fast att alla löntagare oavsett facklig tillhörighet ska inkluderas i arbetsmiljöarbetet.
- abolish trade union preferential rightdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna vill avpolitisera arbetsmiljöarbetet genom att avveckla politiskt styrda fackförbunds företrädesrätt att utse skyddsombud.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats wish to depoliticise occupational health and safety work by phasing out politically controlled trade unions' preferential right to appoint safety representatives.”
- employees appoint safety representatives»Makten att utse lokala skyddsombud ska i första hand ligga hos medarbetarna på berörd arbetsplats.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The power to appoint local safety representatives shall primarily lie with employees at the workplace in question.”
- all employees included»Alla löntagare, oavsett avtal eller facklig tillhörighet, ska inkluderas i arbetsmiljöarbetet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All employees, regardless of agreement or union membership, shall be included in occupational health and safety work.”
- depoliticised occupational health»Avpolitisera arbetsmiljöarbetet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Depoliticise occupational health and safety work”
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Sources and documents
- The committee report on riksdagen.se (2022/23:AU8)
- Committee report full text (HA01AU8)
- Per-MP voting data (API)
- Case status (API)
Documents under consideration
- Motion 2022/23:1062 — Arbetsmiljöverket av Leif Nysmed och Lars Mejern Larsson (båda S)
- Motion 2022/23:1153 — En arbetsskadeförsäkring i behov av förändring av Julia Kronlid m.fl. (SD)
- Motion 2022/23:1166 — Tryggare anställningar och en hållbar arbetsmiljö av Leif Nysmed och Lars Mejern Larsson (båda S)
- Motion 2022/23:1228 — En fungerande sjukförsäkring av Ida Gabrielsson m.fl. (V)
- Motion 2022/23:1245 — Ordning och reda på arbetsmarknaden av Ciczie Weidby m.fl. (V)
- Motion 2022/23:1295 — För jämställda villkor - arbetsskor till omsorgs- och förskolepersonal av Sanna Backeskog (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1304 — Inga dödsfall på jobbet av Åsa Eriksson m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1446 — Utökad tillträdesrätt för regionala skyddsombud av Aida Birinxhiku (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1558 — Trygghet för skyddsombud av Aida Birinxhiku m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1565 — Mer jämställd arbetsmiljö av Zara Leghissa m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1598 — Stärkt forskning om arbetsmiljö och arbetsliv av Zara Leghissa m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1612 — Lagstiftning för distansarbete av Martina Johansson m.fl. (C)
- Motion 2022/23:1672 — En levande landsbygd för Sveriges bästa av Annie Lööf m.fl. (C)
- Motion 2022/23:1717 — Kostnadsfria arbetsskor för vårdpersonal av Johan Andersson m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:1961 — De regionala skyddsombudens tillträdesrätt av Gunilla Carlsson (S)
- Motion 2022/23:2021 — Arbetslivskriminalitet i skattefinansierade verksamheter av Mirja Räihä m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:2022 — En mer jämställd arbetsmiljö av Inga-Lill Sjöblom m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:2052 — Utgiftsområde 14 Arbetsmarknad och arbetsliv av Teresa Carvalho m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:2061 — Utgiftsområde 9 Hälsovård, sjukvård och social omsorg av Fredrik Lundh Sammeli m.fl. (S)
- Motion 2022/23:2087 — Ett permanent statligt lyft för personal i hälso- och sjukvård, vård och omsorg av Ulrika Westerlund m.fl. (MP)
Source: The Swedish Parliament