Number of subcontractors

The plan points out wage dumping, economic crime and exploitation as central threats and wants to close the space to exploit people's vulnerable position. Long sub-contractor chains in public procurement are exactly such a space, and the plan sets requirements for collective agreements in procurement. That EU law would prevent the measure is for the plan no reason to refrain, since Sweden should challenge such limitations.

• stop wage dumpingdecisive»Lönedumpning, ekonomisk brottslighet och utnyttjande är centrala hot idag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Wage dumping, economic crime and exploitation are central threats today.”
• stop exploitation»Vi vill täppa till det utrymme som finns idag att exploatera människors utsatta ställning.« (party programme ↗)“We want to close the space that exists today to exploit people's vulnerable position.”
• challenge EU law's limitations»Vi vill att Sverige utmanar EU:s överstatliga fördrag och lagar när de sätter kapitalets intressen före jämlikhet och nationellt självbestämmande.« (party programme ↗)“We want Sweden to challenge EU's supranational treaties and laws when they put capital's interests before equality and national self-determination.”
• collective agreements in procurement»Vänsterpartiet ställer krav på kollektivavtal vid offentliga upphandlingar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Left Party sets requirements for collective agreements at public procurement.”

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's decisive commitment is measures against labour market crime, that public procurers shall be foremost for fair competition and that it shall never pay to gain competitive advantages by neglecting employees. Long subcontractor chains are precisely the structure where such conditions arise, and the party programme establishes that market freedom shall never be at the expense of equal treatment of employees. The exact number of layers is not specified in the documents.

• requirements for public procurementdecisive»Arbetslivs kriminalitet ska inte finnas på svensk arbetsmarknad och offentliga arbetsgivare och upphandlare ska vara föredömen i att verka för en sund konkurrens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Labour market crime shall not exist in the Swedish labour market and public employers and procurers shall be foremost in working for fair competition.”
• no competition with worse conditions»Det ska aldrig löna sig att begå brott eller skaffa sig konkurrensfördelar genom att försumma de anställdas rätt till en trygg arbetsmiljö.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It shall never pay to commit crime or gain competitive advantages by neglecting employees' right to a secure working environment.”
• working conditions before market freedom»frihet på den inre marknaden får emellertid aldrig ske på bekostnad av principerna om« (party programme ↗)“freedom on the internal market shall however never be at the expense of the principles of”
• against social dumping»förhindrar social dumping« (party programme ↗)“prevents social dumping”

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The plan demands that procurement sets requirements on social conditions and working environment, that working conditions be improved where employees have a weak position, and wants to make it difficult to conduct unserious activities. A limit on the number of subcontractor levels with stronger controls against labour market crime is a means for this. The plan furthermore means that member states must be allowed to lead with stricter legislation even when it conflicts with the internal market.

• social requirements in procurementdecisive»krav ställas vad gäller miljö, sociala villkor samt« (party programme ↗)“demands are set regarding environment, social conditions and”
• make labour market crime difficult»Det ska vara dyrt, jobbigt och svårt att vara kriminell.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It shall be expensive, tedious and difficult to be criminal.”
• better working conditions»Deras arbetsvillkor måste« (party programme ↗)“Their working conditions must”
• right to lead beyond EU»Medlemsländerna måste få rätt att gå före med« (party programme ↗)“Member states must be allowed the right to lead with”

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 a market economy free from planned-economy directives and warns against barriers that limit producers' choices. A statutory limit on the number of supply chain tiers is such a directive and strikes at the small companies the plan wants to give good conditions. The plan shares the goal of combating crime but argues against the requirement the counter-proposal makes.

• against trade barriersdecisive»Tullar och handelshinder begränsar konsumenters och producenters val.« (party programme ↗)“Tariffs and trade barriers limit consumers' and producers' choices.”
• deregulation for business»Rensa upp i regelträsket för entreprenörer, stora som små.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Clean up the bureaucratic jungle for entrepreneurs, large and small.”
• conditions for small business»Goda villkor för entreprenörer, egenföretagare och små företag är därför avgörande för att skapa nya jobb.« (party programme ↗)“Good conditions for entrepreneurs, the self-employed and small businesses are therefore crucial for creating new jobs.”

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The plan wants to develop the internal market and protect free movement, and reduce the regulatory burden for small enterprises. A statutory limit on the number of subcontractor levels shuts out precisely the smaller enterprises that operate further down the chains and restricts freedom of movement for services. That work-related crime should be counteracted is shared by the plan, but with control rather than with a ban on subcontractors.

• free movement and internal marketdecisive»Vi ska stärka EU som frihandelsunion med en fördjupad inre marknad, värna den fria rörligheten i Europa och verka för fler frihandelsavtal med omvärlden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We shall strengthen the EU as a free trade union with a deepened internal market, protect free movement in Europe and work for more free trade agreements with the outside world.”
• developed internal market»Den inre marknaden ska utvecklas« (party programme ↗)“The internal market shall be developed”
• decreased regulatory burden for small enterprises»Regelbördan för små företag ska minska« (party programme ↗)“The regulatory burden for small enterprises shall decrease”
• prevent undeclared work»systemet för arbetskraftsinvandring inte ska missbrukas för till exempel svartjobb.« (party programme ↗)“the system for labour immigration shall not be misused for, for example, undeclared work.”

The plan wishes to simplify rules and improve competition on the internal market and requires that upcoming laws be tested from a small business perspective. A statutory cap on two subcontractor levels, by contrast, locks in the market and strikes at precisely the smaller businesses that often operate in later tiers. The plan's requirement that crime be prosecuted justifies monitoring, but not the proposed ban.

• open markets within the EUdecisive»Det måste ske genom att förenkla regler och förbättra konkurrensen, genom att bryta« (party programme ↗)“This must happen by simplifying rules and improving competition, by breaking”
• small business perspective in regulation»regler ska motverkas. Direkta företagssubventioner avvisas. Tillkommande lagar bör prövas ur ett småföretagarperspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“rules shall be countered. Direct business subsidies are rejected. Upcoming laws should be tested from a small business perspective.”
• crime must be prosecuted»Alla brott ska effektivt och utan undantag beivras, också sådana som kan avfärdas som smärre brott« (party programme ↗)“All crime shall be effectively and without exception prosecuted, including those that can be dismissed as minor crimes”
• more businesses»FLER FöRETAG« (2022 manifesto ↗)“MORE BUSINESSES”

The counter-proposal requires that the number of sub-contractor levels be limited by law to at most two, with possible total prohibition in certain procurements. The plan wants instead to deepen the internal market and remove a third of red tape, and prosperity rests on market economy and freedom of contract. Security-sensitive activities are met in the plan with better state support, not with general prohibitions on sub-contractors. The plan therefore rejects the demand.

• free mobility for servicesdecisive»Fördjupa den inre marknaden, inte minst för tjänster och digitala produkter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Deepen the internal market, especially for services and digital products”
• reduced red tape»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove a third of companies' administrative costs and a third of red tape”
• market economy and freedom of contract»Grunden för Sveriges välstånd är en marknadsekonomi baserad« (party programme ↗)“The foundation for Sweden's prosperity is a market economy based”
• protection of security-sensitive activities»Ge företag som är engagerade i säkerhetskänslig verksamhet bättre stöd från staten att kunna möta cyberattacker, spionage och stöldförsök från främmande makt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Give companies engaged in security-sensitive activities better support from the state to be able to meet cyber attacks, espionage and theft attempts from foreign powers”

The plan commits to combating both fraud and systems that tend to encourage fraud and corruption, and points to shortcomings in public procurement and criminality affecting businesses. Long subcontractor chains are such a system, which speaks for the counter-proposal's limitation. The plan simultaneously protects smaller players' access to procurements, which pulls in the other direction and makes support uncertain.

• combat fraud-encouraging systemsdecisive»Både fusk och sådana system som tenderar att locka till fusk och korruption ska motverkas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Both fraud and systems that tend to encourage fraud and corruption must be combated.”
• shortcomings in public procurement»Den offentliga sektorn har dels problem med upphandlingar, ekonomistyrning och uppföljning« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The public sector has partly problems with procurements, financial management and follow-up”
• protect smaller players»Onödigt stränga villkor i branschstandarder och i upphandlingar gör det ofta svårt för mindre aktörer att slå sig in på marknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Unnecessarily strict requirements in industry standards and in procurements often make it difficult for smaller players to enter the market.”
• national self-determination before EU»Återupprätta mellanstatligheten och stärka väljarnas påverkansmöjligheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Restore inter-statehood and strengthen voters' influence options”

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.