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Why the pay rise negotiated by Sweden's industrial unions matter

Sweden's industrial unions have agreed a 6.4 percent pay rise with employers, split over two years. But did you know that this is important even if you work in another industry? Advertisement What's happened? Sweden's industrial unions and employers have struck a new deal, setting the benchmark of salary increases at 6.4 percent over the coming two years, or in other words 3.4 percent this year and another 3 percent next year. The industrial unions? What are those? Sweden's five industrial unions are IF Metall, Unionen, Sveriges ingenjörer, GS and Livs, which represent the metal, grocery, engineering and forestry industries, among others. The unions were originally calling for a 4.2 percent pay rise for 2025, but later agreed on 6.4 percent to be split over two years. I'm not a member of any of these unions. Why is this important for me? Essentially, the industrial unions are responsible for setting the mark, or märket in Swedish, which is the percentage pay rise demand which provides the foundation for negotiations with employers. Crucially, the mark doesn't just apply to employees covered by the industrial unions, but all of the other unions in Sweden will generally adopt the same figure when negotiating their pay rises with employer organisations. This is because the industrial unions are considered to represent the industries most affected by international competition, so they're best placed to determine a fair pay rise. Advertisement Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Depending on who you ask, this is both good and bad. It means that a few unions have a lot of power and influence when deciding the mark, which other unions just have to follow. Although there's no specific law saying that unions have to follow the mark set by the industrial unions, it's the de facto rule for agreement negotiations. This means that industries outside of the industrial unions who want a higher pay rise – such as the Transport Union in 2025 – are often left without the power to negotiate this by themselves. What they can do to mitigate this is agree on other benefits, like a higher minimum wage for their specific industry, shorter working hours or increased holiday. There's also nothing to stop them from negotiating pay rises above the mark, although employer organisations may argue that the industries have set the mark and refuse to go above it. The fact that the mark is set in percent is also not ideal, as it widens the gap between high and low earners. So does this mean I'll definitely be getting a 6.4 percent pay rise over the next few years? Not quite. The employer organisations have agreed to offer this pay rise to employees, but that's employees as a whole rather than employees individually. Some collective bargaining agreements have what are called individgarantier (individual guarantees), which do guarantee a specific minimum salary increase for each employee, but this varies depending on the agreement and the workplace. Advertisement You can try to negotiate a larger pay rise than the 6.4 percent agreed by the unions by, for example, highlighting the fact that you've performed well over the year, taken on new challenges or gained new skills. You could also be given a lower salary increase, or even none at all (which is known as being nollad or "zeroed"), in which case your employer will need to provide information as to why, based on factors like your performance and skills, rather than things like financial difficulties in the company. They also have to explain the salary criteria and help you develop a plan for how you can meet them. What if I don't have a collective bargaining agreement? If you don't have a collective bargaining agreement then you'll be responsible for negotiating your own pay rise, but you can always refer to the mark set by the unions as a benchmark. If they don't offer you the pay rise you want, remember you can try negotiating for some other benefit instead, such as extra holiday, shorter working hours or more overtime compensation.