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Sverige har högst sysselsättning i EU
Under 2015 hade Sverige EU:s högsta sysselsättningsgrad. Men inte nog med det, inget annat EU-land har någonsin haft en större andel av befolkningen i arbete än Sverige.
För tre år sedan lovade Stefan Löfven att Sverige skulle ha lägst arbetslöshet i EU till år 2020. Sverige ligger i dag på 12:e plats och har således en del kvar innan statsministerns mål är nått.
Däremot är Sverige bäst i klassen när det kommer till sysselsättningsgraden, det vill säga hur stor del av befolkningen som jobbar. Under 2015 var 80,5 procent av Sveriges befolkning mellan 20 och 64 sysselsatta. Det skriver Europaportalen och hänvisar till siffror från europeiska statistikbyrån Eurostat.
Det är den högsta sysselsättningsgraden som Eurostat uppmätt hittills sedan de började sina mätningar 1993. Även silverplatsen innehas av Sverige där 80,4 procent av befolkningen hade jobb 2008.
Under perioden 1996 till 2015, då Sverige ingått i Eurostats mätningar, har Sveriges haft högst sysselsättningsgrad i EU under 11 av 20 år.
Genomsnittet i EU låg på drygt 70 procent förra året, vilket är den näst högsta siffran under 2000-talet. Grekland hamnade på bottenplaceringen med 54,9 procent av befolkningen i arbete.
EU har som mål att den genomsnittliga sysselsättningsgraden ska var 75 procent år 2020 och varje medlemsnation har ett eget mål. Redan i dag har Sverige, Tyskland, Estland och Litauen nått upp till sina respektive mål.
Sysselsatt eller arbetslös?
Sysselsättningsgraden visar hur stor andel av befolkningen inom en viss åldersgrupp som är sysselsatt (personer i arbetsmarknadsåtgärder, sjukskrivningar etc. inräknade). En person räknas som sysselsatt ifall denne senaste veckan har arbetat minst en timme, varit tillfälligt frånvarande eller haft utbildningsvikariat, beredskapsarbete eller liknande.
Arbetslös är en person som inte har arbetat, som har sökt arbete under de senaste fyra veckorna och kan ta ett jobb inom två veckor, alternativt att man avvaktar att påbörja ett arbete som börjar inom tre månader.
Eurostats data över både arbetslöshet och sysselsättningsgrad baseras på ILO:s rekommendationer.
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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.
