In the literature on the emergence of the welfare state, the strength of trade unions and the organized working class is often touted as the primary driving force behind the welfare state project. Furthermore, much of the previous literature has tended to assume union homogeneity across countries, federations, industries and professions. What is conspicuously lacking from the current political science literature is a systematic analysis of real-world trade unions’ choice of labor market advocacy focus. Using a qualitative approach and studying both published union material as well as conducting a number of elite interviews with high-level union officials, this thesis studies the degree to which Swedish trade unions’ labor market policy preferences are defined by the union members’ labor market risk exposure and whether the union adheres to white-collar or blue-collar unionism. While the conclusions indeed suggest that labor market risk and blue-collar/white-collar unionism do have a systematic impact on cartain aspects of trade unions’ labor market advocacy, future “large N” studies utilizing alternative methodological approaches will be required to draw more easily generalizable conclusions.

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經濟發展與財富分配一直以來是國家所面臨的兩難處境。經濟發展的過程中不可避免會產生財富集中於特定階級的現象，所得極化產生的弊端使得歐美國家不得不採取公共政策介入工資協商。其一是制訂最低工資迫使資方給付此等數額以上之工資，其二則是以一組工資政策制度設計令勞工能以集體力量就工資與資方進行協商（或連同政府形成三方對談），此二政策皆是在避免分配問題惡化造成社會不安，同時兩者皆是試圖對市場工資進行規制，因而在效果上有重疊的部份，功能上也相互影響。最低工資政策與工資政策或分由國家與勞資雙方各別制訂，或皆在勞、資、政三方協商下形成，並沒有一固定模式出現，端視該國工業關係而異。 基本（最低）工資政策在我國則因特殊的工業關係與強勢的國家機關有著截然不同的發展。早期台灣的國家機關傾向追求經濟發展，在相對弱勢的社會團體（包含勞資雙方）之前對工資議題採嚴密控制的態度，避免工資受政治力量影響而造成台灣在國際市場上的比較利益優勢受損，因而在基本工資政策上採取謹慎調整、甚或不調整的策略。同時在工資政策上因工會的低度發展，工資協商只出現在少許產業，這使台灣的市場工資長期維持在一相當低的水準，具議價功能的工會如此發展更是因為國家機關政治動員與經濟動員策略對工會功能造成的扭曲。因而在早期台灣基本工資政策的效用不彰，團體協商也受到普遍的漠視。 然而1980年以後巨幅變遷的國際與國內政經環境迫使國家機關必須調整其在工資議題上的態度。首先在國際間來自主要出口貿易國對貿易條件的異議使得台灣不能再以低工資為其發展策略，這使得國家必須正視勞動基準與工會發展的問題；其次，後進亞洲國家與台灣在國際市場上競價的結果使得低工資產品的獲利空間日益縮小，因而台灣面臨產業結構調整的壓力，這使得國家機關毋需再刻意維持低市場工資的局面，反而需要制訂出較高的勞動基準迫使勞力密集產業自然淘汰或遷往海外，加速國內的產業升級；再者，國內政治民主化改變了國家-社會間的關係，蓬勃的勞工運動與變遷的政商關係使得工業關係也有了與以往不同的發展。在1988年基本工資審議辦法通過後，基本工資政策便進入了逐年審議調整的制度化階段，政府試圖將經濟發展所帶來的利益與勞工分享，降低發展過程中日益惡化的分配問題。但政院通過之基本工資與審議機制議定結果往往有相當大的差異，在制訂過程間不但各方在認知上有極大的落差，對制訂結果也是爭議不斷，這使得原先欲降低分配爭議的基本工資調整反而成為另一爭議的起源。 其中經濟部門不只一次表達廢除基本工資制度的看法，但我們可發現自1988年以後政府非但沒有廢止基本工資的跡象，其還是在爭議不斷的聲浪中逐年進行調整。我們認為政府對基本工資積極調整的態度與基本工資所連動的勞保投保工資有極大的關係。由於勞工保險在1980年代中期突然出現大幅虧損，同時人口結構老化、職業工會投保者日眾等結構性問題亦難以克服，逐年調整的基本工資便成為改善政府財政危機的一大利器。不過隨著外勞引進日增，同樣受到基本工資連動的外勞工資讓雇主團體對基本工資調整極為反彈，而諸多社會保險的開辦也令勞工團體在投保薪資調整上採取抵制的態度，反映在基本工資政策上便是基本工資與其他工資脫勾及勞資自由協商的聲浪日起。 1996年政府在基本工資政策上有了重大的調整，自1997年起將原先基本工資的政策草案形成委由勞資雙方先行協商，再由政院通過基本工資調整案。基本工資決策權雖仍在行政機關之手，但政策形成卻讓勞資雙方有了更大的參與空間。不過，日後的發展卻也印證了本研究的觀察，勞資雙方在社會保險工資上有著共同利益因而達成基本工資脫勾的協議，甚至為迴避基本工資調整對外勞工資的影響，1997年的勞資談判反而形成了製造業調薪3%的協議。然而最終還是因為我國工資政策制度設計的問題，這項協議並沒有通過，而基本工資調整還是回歸至行政機關完成。 本研究發現在台灣由於國家機關自主性與工業關係在不同階段有不同的發展，使得基本工資政策呈現出了不同的面貌。80年代之前，國家強大的自主性與組織勞動者的弱勢使得國家機關能夠充分遂行政權穩定與經濟成長的目的，國家機關排除任何影響工資決定制訂因素的結果使得台灣的市場工資長期維持在一相當低的幅度，卻也使得基本工資處於長期僵化的局面。然而，隨著政治民主化與工業關係的轉變，國家機關漸需正視民間社會對社會正當性的要求，合理分配利益的呼聲也日起；同時，國際政經環境的變遷也使得低工資出口的優勢不再，甚至可能因而生成貿易失衡的問題。這些因素皆使得政府在勞動政策上做出一連串改變，反映在基本工資政策上即是基本工資政策制度化與逐年調整原則的生成。但政策形成開放民間參與使得國家機關在制訂基本工資政策上的自主性逐漸降低，勞資利益衝突的問題日漸浮現；而社會安全網絡財政危機的加劇與外籍勞工的開放引進也為基本工資調整增添新的變數，進而影響基本工資政策的發展，使得台灣基本工資政策呈現出迥異於歐美國家的面貌。 第一章 緒論 第一節 研究動機、目的與範圍 第二節 文獻回顧 第二章 最低工資政策與工資政策 第一節 最低工資政策演進、概念與模式 一、工資制度之歷史演進 二、基本工資的政策概念與政策模式 第二節 發展中國家的最低工資政策與工資政策 第三章 理論架構 第一節 理論觀點--國家理論 一、社會中心觀點 二、國家中心觀點 三、Block與Offe的國家理論 第二節 研究途徑-歷史制度取向 第四章 台灣基本工資政策之形成與持續（1956-1987） 第一節 從經濟管制到經濟計畫 第二節 政策草案階段 第三節 低工資政策制度設計 第四節 小結 第五章 基本工資政策的發展與轉變（1988-1996） 第一節 工資政策的轉變 一、勞動政策的轉變 二、工業關係 第二節 制度化的基本工資政策 一、基本工資政策轉變的背景 二、基本工資政策的制度化過程 第三節 基本工資政策的轉變 一、基本工資公式政治化 二、外勞工資之因素 三、勞保財務因素 第四節 小結 第六章 結論 參考書目

<p>I denna uppsats undersöker vi huruvida invandrare diskrimineras på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Vi undersöker även om förhållandet skiljer sig när vi endast tittar på gruppen kvinnor, och gör en jämförelse mellan svenskfödda kvinnor och invandrarkvinnor. Vi använder oss av två modeller för att estimera löneskillnader, dummyvariabel modellen och Blinder-Oaxaca modellen. Våra resultat ger tydliga indikationer på lönediskriminering gentemot invandrare, kvinnor och en ännu tydligare lönediskriminering gentemot invandrarkvinnor. Vi anser att invandrarkvinnor drabbas av en så kallad dubbel diskriminering, där den övriga populationen i genomsnitt ges 28,4% högre lön än invandrarkvinnor.</p> / <p>In this thesis we investigate whether immigrant are being discriminated on the Swedish labor market. We also examine if this differentiates itself when we put our focus on the women as a group and thereafter make comparison between Swedish born women and women born outside Sweden. We have employed two models in order to determine wage differences, the dummy variable model and the Blinder-Oaxaca model. Our results show a distinct indication of wage discrimination against immigrants, women and even a more comprehensive discrimination towards immigrant women. Immigrant women have in general 28,4% lower wage than the average population. According to our findings therefore, foreign women are subjects to double discrimination.</p>

This dissertation tries to gain insight on the possible impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) in economic and social relationships. Can we really talk about a revolution?. It is probably too early to conclude so. In any case, the social impact of ICT seems evident: the daily life of most individuals, firms and public administrations in developed countries is nowadays linked to new technologies. Regarding their economic impact, this dissertation has investigated the role played by ICT in explaining some of the stylized facts that have characterized European economies over the last 25 years. Using Spanish data, chapter 1 shows that capital accumulation, and especially ICT introduction over the last 20 years, has led firms to internally reorganize themselves. Furthermore, the implemented organizational changes have been skill-biased and have, thus, stimulated the demand for high-skilled workers. Based on these results, in chapter 2 an inter-temporal general equilibrium model endogenizing the capital-skill complementarity relationship has been developed. The model distinguishes between two types of jobs, complex and simple, and two types of workers, high- and low-skilled. Complex jobs can only be occupied by high-skilled while simple jobs can be filled by both, high- and low-skilled workers. High-skilled workers in simple jobs continue to search for a job in the complex segment (on-the-job search). Matching processes are represented by matching functions à la Pissarides. Workers search intensities are endogenous. Calibrated on the Belgian economy, the model is able to reproduce the observed increase in unemployment rates and relative wage rigidity. Chapter 3 extends this theoretical setup to an endogenous growth framework, where embodied and disembodied technological progress are differentiated and endogenized through a learning-by-doing process based on capital accumulation. The new model also provides a realistic representation of the labor market and it considers growth issues. Chapter 4 analyzes the effects of technological and organizational changes within firms on the turnover of different professional categories. Empirical results, based on a unique French data set, suggest that ICT introduction increases labor flows of manual workers and employees, whereas most of the new workplace organizational practices raise the turnover of managers. / Cette dissertation cherche à déterminer le possible impact des nouvelles technologies de l'information et la communication (TIC) sur les relations économiques et sociales. Est-ce que c'est correct de parler d'une révolution ? Il est sûrement trop tôt pour en conclure. Pourtant l'impact social des TIC semble évident : la vie quotidienne des ménages, entreprises et administrations publiques dans les pays développés est aujourd'hui liée aux nouvelles technologies. Concernant son impact économique, cette dissertation a cherché à signaler leur rôle dans les faits stylisés qui ont caractérisé l'évolution des économies européennes sur les 30 dernières années. En se servant des données espagnols, le chapitre 1 montre que, sur les 20 dernières années, l'accumulation de capital, particulièrement de TIC, a mené aux entreprises a se réorganiser internement. D'ailleurs, ces changements organisationnels ont été biaisés en faveur des travailleurs qualifiés dont la demande s'est vue stimulée. En se basant sur ces résultats, le chapitre 2 développe un modèle inter-temporaire d'équilibre général endogéneisant la relation de complémentarité entre capital et travail qualifié. Le modèle distingue entre deux types de postes de travail, complexes et simple, et deux types de travailleurs, qualifiés et non qualifiés. Les postes de travail complexe peuvent être occupés seulement par les travailleurs qualifiés alors que les postes simples peuvent être occupés par les deux types de travailleurs. Les travailleurs qualifiés en postes simples continuent à chercher du travail dans le marché complexe pendant leur temps libre. Le procès de matching est représenté par des fonctions de matching à la Pissarides. Les intensités de recherche de l'emploi sont endogènes. Les modèle, calibré sur l'économie belge, reproduit de façon satisfaisante l'augmentation du chômage et la stabilité des salaires relatifs observés en Belgique pendant les dernières décades. Le chapitre 3 étend ce cadre théorique à un modèle de croissance endogène où le progrès technologique incorporé et désincorporé sont différenciés et endogèneisés à travers d'un procès de learning-by-doing fondé sur l'accumulation du capital. Le nouveau modèle fourni une représentation réaliste du marché de travail et il considère en même temps le sujet de la croissance. Le chapitre 4 analyse les effets des changements technologiques et organisationnels au sein des firmes sur les flux de travail de différentes catégories professionnelles. Les résultats empiriques, obtenus à partir d'une base de données française, suggèrent que l'introduction des TIC augmente les flux de travail des travailleurs manuels et les employés, alors que la plupart des nouvelles pratiques organisationnelles stimulent les flux de travail des cadres.

One of the most controversial debates in contemporary Swedish history centred on a proposal to create “wage-earner” funds. The main institutional actors of Swedish society were involved in this debate during the 1970s and 1980s. The aim of this thesis is to analyze how the most important institutional actors in Sweden, namely LO, the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) and the Swedish Employer Confederation (SAF), participated in and defined themselves in the wage-earner funds debate, against the background of the crisis of the Swedish Fordism, i.e. the mass production society. Chapter 2 consists of an analysis of those inherent features of Swedish Fordism that potentially could imply dissolution of the Fordist society in Sweden after the 1960s. Chapter 3 investigates debates about wage solidarity policy and the concentration of power and ownership in the Swedish economy that resulted in the LO wage-earner funds proposal from 1975. Chapter 4 discusses the opinions of active members in LO regarding the wage-earner funds proposals from 1975 and 1978. Chapter 5 investigates the Social Democratic Party's relationship to wage-earner funds. The chapter surmises that SAP leaders took a pragmatic attitude towards funds. This pragmatism differed from the opinion expressed by the radical activists in the party. Chapter 6 deals with the reaction of the Swedish Employer Confederation to the wage-earner funds proposal. The SAF anti-fund campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s are investigated in detail in the context of a neoliberal ideological offensive in Sweden. The chapter argues that the decision to abandon the centralized wage bargaining model influenced SAF's strategy in the debate over wage-earner funds. The dissertation’s main conclusion is that the radical wings of LO and SAP as well as the SAP leaders and the Swedish employers all used the mobilization around wage-earner funds for their own political purposes to solve problems resulting from the crisis of Swedish Fordism.

I denna uppsats undersöker vi huruvida invandrare diskrimineras på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Vi undersöker även om förhållandet skiljer sig när vi endast tittar på gruppen kvinnor, och gör en jämförelse mellan svenskfödda kvinnor och invandrarkvinnor. Vi använder oss av två modeller för att estimera löneskillnader, dummyvariabel modellen och Blinder-Oaxaca modellen. Våra resultat ger tydliga indikationer på lönediskriminering gentemot invandrare, kvinnor och en ännu tydligare lönediskriminering gentemot invandrarkvinnor. Vi anser att invandrarkvinnor drabbas av en så kallad dubbel diskriminering, där den övriga populationen i genomsnitt ges 28,4% högre lön än invandrarkvinnor. / In this thesis we investigate whether immigrant are being discriminated on the Swedish labor market. We also examine if this differentiates itself when we put our focus on the women as a group and thereafter make comparison between Swedish born women and women born outside Sweden. We have employed two models in order to determine wage differences, the dummy variable model and the Blinder-Oaxaca model. Our results show a distinct indication of wage discrimination against immigrants, women and even a more comprehensive discrimination towards immigrant women. Immigrant women have in general 28,4% lower wage than the average population. According to our findings therefore, foreign women are subjects to double discrimination.

The subject of the thesis is systematic job evaluation for purposes of local wage determination for blue-collar jobs within the Swedish industry. The method is examined from a general wage-determination as well as from a gender equality perspective. The thesis is based on e.g. documents from the parties, on interviews with representatives of employers and unions at the central and local level, and on interviews with persons participating in job evaluation work in some companies. An analysis is made of one of the most common job evaluation systems, including the changes it has undergone since the 1950s. The use of a job evaluation system implies that a linkage is made between /certain/job demands and wages. It also means that this linkage is made in a systematic way. Systematics might, in its turn, imply consistency, rigidity and explicity. The thesis examines the significance of a linkage demands-wages and of consistency, rigidity and explicity for the parties' attitudes towards the method; as a purpose or as a means to achieve other goals. It demonstrates that the employers' problems to recruit labour and a desire for an increased wage differentiation has constituted a major reason for using the systems. The job evaluation system examined does not consider, or gives low weight to, certain demands which are common in female-dominated jobs. Various circumstances in the evaluation work process which provide it with scope for consideration are identified. This scope for consideration may disfavour female-dominated jobs. The thesis claims that the scope for consideration yet is less than in an unsystematic overall assessment of différencies in job demands between various jobs. A completed systematic job evaluation offers a basis for speaking of "work of equal value" in the sense of the Swedish Equal Opportunities Act, and forces the employer to explain possible différencies in the terms of employment when the points allotted are equal. It is unclear whether the court has to accept the application of the system made by the parties, or whether it could make its own evaluation with the same system. So far, no case concerning work of equal value has been settled in court. / <p>Diss. Umeå : Univ., 1991</p> / digitalisering@umu

Den ekonomiska globaliseringen och ökade världshandeln har lett till att multinationella företag till viss del fått ta sig an den roll som stater tidigare har haft och många företag har börjat använda sig av corporate social responsibility (CSR) som ett verktyg för detta. Frågan är om utvecklingen har gjort att andra aktörer, såsom fackföreningar, som tidigare varit en självklar aktör på den politiska arenan och en given del av den svenska företagssfären, nu kommit i skymundan. Det leder vidare till frågan om vad fackföreningar i så fall har för roll idag. Det föreligger ett gap i forskningen vad gäller fackföreningarnas roll i CSR-diskursen samt levnadslöner i utvecklingsvärlden, som kan ses som en del av CSR-konceptet. Ambitionen är att denna kvalitativa flerfallsstudie ska kunna bidra till den kunskapsbrist som tycks finnas gällande svenska fackföreningar och deras syn och roll vad gäller CSR och specifikt levnadslöner. Resultatet av studien visar att svenska fackföreningar överlag är skeptiska till CSR och att ett införande av levnadslöner är komplext. Vidare visar resultatet att det som står i vägen för levnadslöner är en svag stat och en ovilja bland företag och länder att införa konceptet. Studien avslutas med en diskussion om fackförbundens framtida roll som intressent till företagen samt vilka implikationer som föreligger i ett potentiellt införande av levnadslöner. / Economic globalization and increased world trade have resulted in multinational corporations (MNCs) having to take on the role that states previously possessed and as a response many companies have started to use Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a means to manage the task. The question is whether this development has put other players in the global arena aside, such as labor unions, which historically have been a given stakeholder group in the political arena as well as in the field of Swedish business. This further leads to the question of what the role of labor unions is today. There is a gap in the research regarding the role of labor unions in the CSR-discourse as well as living wages in the developing world, which can be seen as a part of the CSR-concept. Based on a qualitative study of how Swedish unions perceive CSR and in particular living wages, we aim to fill this gap. The result of the study shows that unions are skeptical towards CSR and that an implementation of living wages is complex. In addition, part of the obstacles that stands in the way of an implementation of living wages is a weak state and an unwillingness among corporations and countries to adopt the concept. The study concludes with a discussion about the future role of labor unions as a stakeholder of corporations as well as the implications that exist in a potential adoption of living wages.

This essay is questioning if the state as an unsecured creditor in a bankruptcy proceeding, according to the principle of equal treatment, has the same rights as the other unsecured creditors. The principle of equal treatment means that creditors with unsecured claims are supposed to have mutually equal rights to dividends in a bankruptcy. In the Swedish bankruptcy law from 1987 there are recycling rules which means that some legal actions taken by the bankrupt debtor before the bankruptcy can be recycled to the bankruptcy estate. These rules do not apply on taxes. This essay analyzes whether the state should have this advantage or not. Another issue that’s discussed in this essay is whether or not the opinion of the Court of Appeal that a right of recourse on a claim for a paid Governmental wage guarantee exists before a bankruptcy should be established by the Supreme Court. This essay also analyzes if the rule which statutes that a company representative can become personally liable for the company tax debts should be abolished or not, since this rule means that the taxes on a larger scale than other claims are paid before the bankruptcy.