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Portrait Anders Kjellberg november 2022. Photo: Emma Lord.

Anders Kjellberg

Professor Emeritus

Portrait Anders Kjellberg november 2022. Photo: Emma Lord.

Union Density in Norway and Sweden: Stability versus Decline

Author

  • Anders Kjellberg
  • Kristine Nergaard

Summary, in English

The aim is to explain why union density is not only considerably higher in the Ghent country Sweden than in non-Ghent Norway but also why it has declined much more in Sweden, in particular among blue-collar workers. We show how changes to Swedish unemployment insurance in 2007–2013 were followed by a decline in union density and how white-collar unions were more successful than blue-collar unions in developing supplementary income insurance schemes that counteracted membership losses. This type of institutional explanation is nevertheless insufficient. In Norway, too, blue-collar density has decreased while white-collar workers have maintained their density rate. Norwegian data further show that even without unemployment insurance funds, it is possible to achieve a fairly high union density at workplaces with collective agreements. However, without unemployment benefits like we find in Sweden, it is increasingly challenging to establish an institutional foundation for a social custom of unionization.

Department/s

  • Sociology

Publishing year

2022-02-23

Language

English

Pages

51-72

Publication/Series

Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies

Volume

12

Issue

58

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies

Topic

  • Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)

Keywords

  • union density
  • trade union
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Ghent system
  • income insurance
  • unemployment fund
  • a-kassa
  • fackförening
  • blue-collar worker
  • white-collar worker
  • Nordic model
  • Swedish model
  • industrial relations
  • foreign-born
  • domestic-born
  • LO
  • TCO
  • Saco
  • Unionen
  • If Metall
  • Sociology
  • Fafo
  • union density
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • trade union
  • unemployment insurance
  • a-kassa
  • income insurance
  • blue-collar worker
  • white-collar worker
  • Nordic model
  • Swedish model
  • Ghent system
  • foreign-born
  • domestic-born
  • LO
  • TCO
  • Saco
  • Unionen
  • IF Metall
  • unionization
  • Fafo
  • Sociology
  • industrial relations
  • Ghent effect
  • collective agreement
  • collective bargaining
  • employers' association

Status

Published

Project

  • Collective Bargaining in Europe
  • Trade Unions in Europe (27 EU countries)

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2245-0157