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Kompetensbrist hinder för tillväxt
Den svenska ekonomin växer, men i långsam takt, visar Unionens nya konjunkturprognos. En orsak är att den europeiska tillväxten är sämre än väntat, en annan den dåliga matchningen på den svenska arbetsmarknaden.
- Den väntade konjunkturuppgången har skjutits framåt, säger Unionens chefsekonom Lars Jagrén.
- Den väntade konjunkturuppgången har skjutits framåt, säger Unionens chefsekonom Lars Jagrén.
2014 blir sannolikt ett svagare år än man tidigare förutspått, Unionen har därför reviderat ned sina tidigare siffror för BNP-tillväxten, från 2,7 till 2,2 procent. Nästa år tror man dock på att de 2,7 procenten kommer att uppnås.
Bilden av en svag uppgång får stöd av Unionens egna siffror och undersökningar.
Genom att se vilken typ av frågor som ställs till Unionens rådgivning går det att få en bild av hur konjunkturen förändras. Ärendeutvecklingen under senare tid tyder inte på någon förändring av tillväxten under andra halvåret 2014.
Unionen gör också en egen branschbarometer två gånger om året. Då tillfrågas stora Unionenklubbar i åtta branscher om vad de tror om framtiden för företagen. Den senaste undersökningen som genomfördes i september visar på ganska låga förväntningar.
Ingen bransch förväntar sig dock en försämring av konjunkturen under det kommande halvåret. Mest optimistiska är klubbarna inom handeln, där alla pilar pekar upp. Dystrast ser framtiden ut för basindustrin, transport samt bygg och fastighet.
Tydligt i branschbarometern är att det finns stora kompetensproblem ute i företagen.
- Det finns stora matchningsproblem. Vi har fått en tudelad arbetsmarknad. Samtidigt som fler har kommit in på arbetsmarknaden och sysselsättningen stiger, så biter sig arbetslösheten fast på en hög nivå, säger Lars Jagrén.
Unionen pekar på flera frågor som man anser att politiken nu bör rikta in sig på, bland annat kompetensutveckling av arbetskraften, investeringar i infrastruktur och bostadsbyggande samt småföretagens finansieringsproblem.
Läs rapporten!
Här finns Unionens konjunkturrapport.
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No guaranteed wages in Northvolt's US reconstruction
Northvolt's financial troubles continue. Now, the battery manufacturer's hopes rest on a reconstruction in the USA. However, the process means that the state guaranteed wages – lönegaranti – will not apply to Union members.
The clock is ticking for the struggling battery manufacturer Northvolt. During the autumn, debts have piled up with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, and recently several of the company's major shareholders withdrew from negotiations for new financing. Since its inception in 2015, Northvolt has raised SEK 110 billion, but now the money is almost gone. According to CEO Peter Carlsson, they need to raise just over SEK 10 billion in the coming year, but so far the search for new financing has been fruitless.
Maintaining control with Chapter 11
Therefore, Northvolt has now taken the next step to save the company. The management has applied for a so-called Chapter 11 procedure, a type of reconstruction process in the USA that was recently used by the airline SAS. One possible explanation for the battery manufacturer turning to an American court is that it is considered doubtful that Northvolt would be granted a Swedish reconstruction, as it requires the company to be fundamentally viable. Another advantage of Chapter 11 is that the management is likely to retain control over the company.
No guaranteed wages for employees
However, there is a downside – for the employees. In an American process, Northvolt's employees will not be able to benefit from the Swedish state guaranteed wages - lönegaranti - according to several legal experts contacted by Kollega.
– The Swedish state does not pay any guaranteed wages if the company has not initiated a reconstruction or bankruptcy in Sweden. If Northvolt only initiates a Chapter 11 procedure in the USA, all the company's obligations to employees in Sweden to pay wages and other compensation according to the employment contract remain, says Hans Andersson, chairman of the Swedish Association of Restructuring and Bankruptcy Administrators.
If Union members at Northvolt do not receive their wages, the union can, however, request the company to be declared bankrupt in a Swedish court.
– If Northvolt does not pay wages on time, the employee or the union can collect the wages through the Enforcement Authority and ultimately request that the company be declared bankrupt if the wages are not settled, explains Hans Andersson.
Unionen: "Will collect unpaid wages"
Filip Vujcic, a union lawyer at Unionen, also assesses that members cannot benefit from the state guaranteed wages when a corporate reconstruction is initiated in the USA.
– This means that Unionen, in the event of future unpaid wages, needs to safeguard its members' rights through wage collection. According to Swedish bankruptcy rules, a corporate reconstruction in the USA does not prevent a member's bankruptcy application from being examined in a Swedish court, he says.
Will Unionen request Northvolt to be declared bankrupt if members do not receive their wages?
– Unionen does not comment on that question at this time.
*In wage collection, Unionen usually sends a demand letter to the employer, who has seven days to pay the wages. If the wages are still not paid, the employer receives a payment order via service. If that does not help either, Unionen sends a bankruptcy application to the district court.
This text has been translated with the help of AI.
CHAPTER 11
- American reconstruction process aimed at giving a company a chance to continue with all or parts of its operations. Normally, no administrator is appointed, and the debtor continues to run the business themselves.
- The company must present a plan that must be approved by the court. The plan aims to determine which debts the debtor should pay and which debts should be written off. The plan also provides the opportunity to terminate unfavorable contracts and reorganize the business so that it can continue to operate profitably.
- One advantage of turning to a court in the USA instead of using the Swedish reconstruction process is that a Chapter 11 has an impact in several countries. If a group has companies in different countries, they are all drawn under the same process instead of carrying it out in each country and risking different outcomes.
