Labour market assessment

The plan stipulates that migrants' residence permits shall never be linked to employers' whims and that migrant workers shall never be exploited for worse conditions or stripped agreements. An employer-driven system is according to the plan precisely what has weakened migrants' position, while the counter-proposal wants to move assessment to an agency to stop wage dumping. The concept of labor market testing is absent from the plan, hence derived.

• no employer-dependent migrationdecisive»Migranters uppehållstillstånd ska aldrig generellt kopplas till arbetsköparnas nycker.« (party programme ↗)“Migrants' residence permits shall never generally be linked to employers' whims.”
• against exploitation of migrant workers»arbetskraftsinvandrare utnyttjas till sämre villkor eller strippade avtal.« (party programme ↗)“migrant workers are exploited for worse conditions or stripped agreements.”
• independence from the employer»Ingen av oss ska behöva utstå rasism på arbetsplatsen eller vara beroende av arbetsgivaren för att få stanna i Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“None of us should have to endure racism in the workplace or be dependent on the employer to stay in Sweden.”
• collective agreements for all»Svenska kollektivavtal ska fullt ut gälla för alla på svensk arbetsmarknad.« (party programme ↗)“Swedish collective agreements shall fully apply to all in the Swedish labor market.”

The election manifesto explicitly states that labour immigration shall be limited, that unemployed people in Sweden first and foremost shall enter employment and that a labour market test shall be introduced. The counter-proposal's demand for an authority-based labour market test is the same measure, and the plan shares the view that the current system leads to people being exploited. The exception for highly educated people in shortage occupations does not change the main line.

• labour market testdecisive»Vi vill införa en arbetsmarknadsprövning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to introduce a labour market test.”
• limited labour immigration»Arbetskraftsinvandringen ska begränsas. I första hand ska arbetslösa i Sverige komma i arbete.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Labour immigration shall be limited. Unemployed people in Sweden shall first and foremost enter employment.”
• prevent exploitation»Dessutom leder dagens arbetskraftsinvandring ofta till att människor utnyttjas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Moreover, current labour immigration often leads to people being exploited.”
• exception for shortage occupations»Samtidigt behöver vi bättre säkra tillgången till högutbildad arbetskraft i bristyrken.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“At the same time, we need to better secure access to highly educated workers in shortage occupations.”

The plan states that Sweden should be open to labour migration and that the ability to move to another country to work is a fundamental freedom. The counter-proposal wants to reintroduce a government-based labour market test as a condition, thus limiting that possibility. The plan's answer to exploitation is instead regulations against unscrupulous employers, not needs testing.

• open labour migrationdecisive»Vi vill att Sverige ska vara ett land som är öppet för arbetskraftsinvandring.« (party programme ↗)“We want Sweden to be a country that is open to labour migration.”
• mobility as a fundamental freedom»Möjligheten att kunna söka sig till ett annat land för att arbeta är en grundläggande frihet och en vinst för både avsändar- och mottagarlandet.« (party programme ↗)“The ability to move to another country to work is a fundamental freedom and a gain for both sending and receiving countries.”
• regulation against unscrupulous employers»Ett öppet regelverk ställer samtidigt krav på nationella regleringar och internationella samarbeten för att motverka diskriminering, dåliga arbetsvillkor och oseriösa arbetsgivare.« (party programme ↗)“An open regulatory framework simultaneously requires national regulations and international cooperation to prevent discrimination, poor working conditions and unscrupulous employers.”
• faster work permits»korta handläggningstiderna för arbetstillstånd och asylbeslut så att det går fortare att komma in i samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“shorten processing times for work permits and asylum decisions so it goes faster to enter society.”

The plan explicitly states that labour immigration shall be valued and that companies must be able to quickly find, recruit and hire the right expertise, and that politics must not fail the companies that cannot manage without labour immigration. An authority-based labour market test is precisely the obstacle the plan wants to avoid. The party programme moreover ties Swedish prosperity to labour that cannot be found within the country's borders.

• valued labour immigrationdecisive»Värna arbetskraftsinvandringen. För att svenska företag ska kunna konkurrera måste de ha möjlighet att snabbt hitta, rekrytera och anställa rätt kompetens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Value labour immigration. For Swedish companies to be able to compete they must have the opportunity to quickly find, recruit and hire the right expertise.”
• business recruitment needs determine policy»Politiken får inte svika alla de företag som inte klarar sig utan arbetskraftsinvandring.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Politics must not fail all those companies that cannot manage without labour immigration.”
• prosperity requires imported expertise»Svenskt välstånd är beroende av välutbildad arbetskraft« (party programme ↗)“Swedish prosperity depends on well-educated labour”
• openness above protectionism»Sverige behöver mer frihandel och internationellt samarbete, inte protektionism och stängda gränser.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs more free trade and international cooperation, not protectionism and closed borders.”

The plan's decisive commitment is that more skilled people shall be attracted to work as migrants and that it shall be easier to get permission for those who can support themselves, with longer temporary work permits and an end to skilled deportations. An authority-based labour market test as a condition for work permits goes directly against this. The plan addresses system abuse with measures against unreported work, not with means testing.

• increased labour migrationdecisive»Fler kunniga människor ska lockas att arbetskraftsinvandra till vårt land« (party programme ↗)“More skilled people shall be attracted to work as migrants to our country”
• easier work permits»Det ska bli enklare att få tillstånd att komma hit för att söka arbete eller starta företag« (party programme ↗)“It shall be easier to get permission to come here to seek work or start a business”
• longer work permits»Tillfälliga arbetstillstånd ska kunna ges för en längre period än i dag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Temporary work permits can be given for a longer period than today.”
• prevent system abuse»systemet för arbetskraftsinvandring inte ska missbrukas för till exempel svartjobb« (party programme ↗)“the system for labour migration shall not be abused for example for unreported work”

The plan is based on people's will and ability to provide for themselves being utilized and decisions being made at the lowest appropriate level, with rules tested from a small business perspective. A government-based labour market assessment shifts the assessment of recruitment needs from the employer to the state. The requirement for strict immigration policy in the election manifesto is directed at integration problems and exclusion, not at demanded labour.

• provision for oneself shall be utilizeddecisive»Människors vilja och förmåga till egenförsörjning ska« (party programme ↗)“People's will and ability to provide for themselves shall”
• decisions at the lowest level»Subsidiaritetsprincipen innebär att det som en liten« (party programme ↗)“The principle of subsidiarity means that what is small”
• small business perspective on rules»Direkta företagssubventioner avvisas. Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“Direct business subsidies are rejected. Incoming laws should be tested from a small business perspective.”
• strict immigration policy»Stram migrationspolitik krävs för att ta itu med integrationsproblem och utanförskap.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strict immigration policy is required to address integration problems and exclusion.”

The plan wants those who want to employ to be able to find the right competence and for competence deportations to be stopped, and the idea program wants Sweden to be a country where people seek to work and run businesses. An authority-based labor market test moves the assessment of recruitment needs from the employer to the state and thus goes against these commitments. The plan does not mention the test as such, which is why the position is inferred.

• protected labor migrationdecisive»Sätta stopp för kompetensutvisningarna« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop competence deportations”
• employer's recruitment needs»Där du som vill anställa har möjlighet att hitta rätt kompetens inom Sveriges gränser – men den som rekryterat utländsk spetskompetens inte behöver oroa sig för orättvisa kompetensutvisningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Where you who want to employ have the opportunity to find the right competence within Sweden's borders – but those who have recruited foreign top expertise do not need to worry about unfair competence deportations.”
• openness for labor»vara ett land dit man vill söka sig för att arbeta, driva företag« (party programme ↗)“be a country where people want to seek to work, run businesses”
• foundation of market economy»Grunden för Sveriges välstånd är en marknadsekonomi baserad« (party programme ↗)“The foundation for Sweden's prosperity is a market economy based”

The plan explicitly requires that Sweden introduce a genuine labour market test for work permits, to prevent import of cheap labour for occupations requiring little training. It also seeks to stop labour immigration to occupations that can be filled by domestic labour. The counter-proposal's requirement for authority-based labour market testing is thus exactly the plan's line.

• genuine labour market testdecisive»För arbetstillstånd behöver Sverige införa en riktig arbetsmarknadsprövning för att förhindra att arbetsgivare importerar billig arbetskraft från fattiga länder för att utföra yrken som kräver liten eller ingen utbildning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“For work permits Sweden needs to introduce a genuine labour market test to prevent employers from importing cheap labour from poor countries to perform occupations requiring little or no training.”
• domestic labour first»Stoppa arbetskraftsinvandring till yrken som kan tillgodoses av inhemsk arbetskraft« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop labour immigration to occupations that can be filled by domestic labour”
• needs-based labour immigration»arbetsmarknadens behov först och främst skall tillgodoses med inhemsk arbetskraft.« (party programme ↗)“the labour market's needs must first and foremost be met with domestic labour.”
• dysfunctional rules»Reglerna för arbetskraftsinvandring har dessutom i praktiken slutat fungera.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The rules for labour immigration have moreover in practice ceased to function.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.