The seniority rules

The plan promises to continue defending strong labour law and counts strong employment protection as one of the cornerstones of its policy. Requirements for objective justification, legal review and compensation when the employer exempts employees from seniority rules limit exactly the arbitrariness the plan turns against. The election manifesto also states that when the right and business lobby organizations talk about flexibility in clear language, they mean weakened employment security.

• strong labour lawdecisive»Vänsterpartiet kommer att fortsätta försvara förhandlingsrätten och en stark arbetsrättslagstiftning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party will continue to defend the right to bargain and strong labour law.”
• flexibility is insecurity»När högern och näringslivets lobbyorganisationer talar om flexibilitet på arbetsmarknaden menar de i klarspråk försämrad anställningstrygghet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“When the right and business lobby organizations talk about flexibility in the labour market in clear language they mean weakened employment security”
• strong employment protection»arbetstidsförkortning, starkt anställningsskydd, trygga försäkringssystem« (2022 manifesto ↗)“working time reduction, strong employment protection, secure insurance systems”
• develop labour law»Vi vill skapa tryggare jobb genom att utveckla arbetsrätten.« (party programme ↗)“We want to create more secure jobs by developing labour law.”

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 requires strong labour law legislation, more permanent and secure employment and a stronger position for wage earners, which supports that the exception from seniority rules is combined with objective grounds, legal review and compensation. At the same time, the plan makes collective agreements the norm and defends the Swedish model, where the parties themselves concluded the main agreement. The balance makes the assessment uncertain.

• strong labour lawdecisive»Stark arbetsrättslig lagstiftning.« (party programme ↗)“Strong labour law legislation.”
• secure employment»Fler fasta och trygga anställningar.« (party programme ↗)“More permanent and secure employment.”
• strengthened wage-earner position»Starkare ställning för fackförbunden för ökat löntagarinflytande.« (party programme ↗)“Stronger position for trade unions for increased wage-earner influence.”
• collective agreements as the norm»Kollektivavtal som norm, försvar av den svenska modellen.« (party programme ↗)“Collective agreements as the norm, defence of the Swedish model.”

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 wants to strengthen workers' rights and points out that insecurity in the labor market has increased, which argues for requirements on objective justification and legal review when workers are excluded from the order of priority. At the same time the plan values the Swedish model where the parties themselves take responsibility for the rules, which pulls in the opposite direction when the exception rests on a basic agreement. The support is therefore weak and uncertain.

• strengthened workers' rightsdecisive»Miljöpartiet vill stärka arbetstagarnas rättigheter och ställa tydligare krav på arbetsgivare« (party programme ↗)“The Greens want to strengthen workers' rights and make clearer demands on employers”
• growing insecurity»Otryggheten på arbetsmarknaden har ökat.« (party programme ↗)“Insecurity in the labor market has increased.”
• the party model weighs against»Miljöpartiet värnar den svenska modellen, där fackföreningar och arbetsgivare« (party programme ↗)“The Greens value the Swedish model, where trade unions and employers”
• legal review»Alla ska vara lika inför lagen och rättssäkerheten måste garanteras i hela rättssystemet.« (party programme ↗)“All shall be equal before the law and legal security must be guaranteed throughout the legal system.”

The plan highlights the implemented labour market reform, which gave companies greater flexibility and employees better adjustment, as a result to build further on. Conditioning the exception to seniority rules with requirements for objective justification, legal review and economic compensation would restrict exactly the flexibility the plan wants to protect and make hiring more expensive. The plan also wants rules to be set by the parties rather than through new legislative requirements.

• protect labour market reformdecisive»Den senaste mandatperioden drev Centerpartiet igenom en historisk arbetsmarknadsreform som innebär större flexibilitet för företagen och bättre omställningsmöjligheter för medarbetare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“During the last mandate period, the Centre Party drove through a historic labour market reform which means greater flexibility for companies and better adjustment opportunities for employees.”
• easier to employ»Det måste bli billigare och lättare att anställa, särskilt personer som står långt från arbetsmarknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It must become cheaper and easier to employ, especially people who are far from the labour market.”
• parties before legislation»arbetsmarknadens parter i stället för genom lagstiftning.« (party programme ↗)“labour market parties rather than through legislation.”
• flexibility and security»Svensk arbetsmarknad behöver både mer flexibilitet och mer trygghet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Swedish labour market needs both more flexibility and more security.”

The plan explicitly establishes that seniority rules shall be based on competence and that it shall be possible to make exceptions to the seniority list, as a way to lower thresholds and make the labour market more dynamic. The counter-proposal's demand for objective reasoning and legal review of the exception restricts precisely that possibility. That the plan wishes to combine changed employment law with severance compensation does not change that the demand goes against its main line.

• exceptions from senioritydecisive»Turordningsreglerna i lagen om anställningsskydd (Las) ska utgå ifrån kompetens, inte anställningstid, samtidigt som det ska vara möjligt att göra undantag från turordningslistan.« (party programme ↗)“Seniority rules in the Employment Protection Act (Las) shall be based on competence, not seniority, while it shall be possible to make exceptions to the seniority list.”
• more flexible employment law»För att sänka trösklarna till arbetsmarknaden och göra den mer dynamisk måste arbetsrätten vara anpassad till dagens förhållanden.« (party programme ↗)“To lower thresholds to the labour market and make it more dynamic, employment law must be adapted to today's conditions.”
• agreements before law»Den svenska arbetsmarknadsmodellen, där villkoren i huvudsak bestäms genom avtal och inte i lag, bidrar till ansvarstagande på arbetsmarknaden.« (party programme ↗)“The Swedish labour market model, where conditions are mainly determined through agreements and not in law, contributes to responsibility in the labour market.”
• transition support at termination»En förändring av arbetsrätten ska kombineras med ett bättre omställningsstöd i form av ett avgångsvederlag till den enskilde, generell och förstärkt statlig arbetslöshetsförsäkring och ökade möjligheter till kompetensutveckling.« (party programme ↗)“A change in employment law shall be combined with better transition support in the form of severance compensation to the individual, general and strengthened state unemployment insurance and increased opportunities for skills development.”

The plan requires that the employer has good opportunities to lead and distribute the work and that small businesses can grow, and that employment protection does not lead to unjustified barriers to the labour market. It also establishes that the formation of conditions shall be done by the parties to the labour market. To legislate on objective grounds, legal review and compensation in the exception goes against both the responsibility of the parties and the requirement for flexibility for small businesses.

• the employer's right to leaddecisive»goda möjligheter att leda och fördela arbetet« (party programme ↗)“good opportunities to lead and distribute the work”
• no unjustified barriers»anställningsskydd ska skapa rimlig trygghet för de anställda utan att leda till omotiverade« (party programme ↗)“employment protection shall create reasonable security for employees without leading to unjustified”
• the parties shape the conditions»Utformningen ska göras av arbetsmarknadens parter. En klar rollfördelning ska« (party programme ↗)“The formation shall be done by the parties to the labour market. A clear division of roles shall”
• small-business perspective»Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett« (party programme ↗)“Forthcoming laws should be tested from a”

The counter-proposal wants to condition the exemption from the priority rules with objective justification, legal review and financial compensation. That makes hiring more expensive and risky, which runs counter to the plan's line to sharply reduce the costs of hiring and to remove a third of red tape for firms. The plan is based on the fact that prosperity rests on a dynamic business sector, not on more legal barriers to restructuring.

• lower thresholds for hiringdecisive»Kraftigt sänka kostnaden för att anställa långtidsarbetslösa« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sharply reduce the cost of hiring the long-term unemployed”
• reduced red tape»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove a third of firms' administrative costs and a third of red tape”
• dynamic business sector»Sveriges välstånd bygger på ett dynamiskt och livskraftigt näringsliv.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden's prosperity is built on a dynamic and thriving business sector.”
• flexible labour market»Marknadsekonomin främjar hushållning, ansvar, kreativitet och långsiktighet.« (party programme ↗)“Market economy promotes economy, responsibility, creativity and long-termism.”

The plan defends the Swedish model, where the labor market parties through negotiations make agreements on central conditions, and emphasizes that stability requires a well-balanced balance between security and employers' flexibility. To legislate on objective justification, legal review and economic compensation regarding the exemption rule interferes with what the parties just agreed on. The plan provides no support for restricting the exemption.

• the parties determine conditionsdecisive»Sverigedemokraterna försvarar grunderna i den svenska modellen« (party programme ↗)“Sweden Democrats defend the foundations of the Swedish model”
• protect the parties model»Försvara den svenska modellen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Defend the Swedish model”
• balance between the parties»Stabilitet förutsätter en god balans mellan arbetsmarknadens parter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stability requires a good balance between the labor market parties.”
• security and flexibility in balance»Den skapas av en väl avvägd kompromiss mellan å ena sidan löntagarnas intresse av trygghet, god arbetsmiljö och goda försörjningsmöjligheter och å andra sidan arbetsgivarnas intresse av flexibilitet, lojala medarbetare och tillväxt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is created by a well-balanced compromise between on the one hand employees' interest in security, good working environment and good means of subsistence and on the other hand employers' interest in flexibility, loyal employees and growth.”