Response to interpellation 2024/25:201 on restrictions for the Scania labor market
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
L argues that the government is actively working to remove border barriers and promote the Nordic labor market 1. L emphasizes that a new Öresund agreement shall improve the conditions for cross-border commuters and that Arbetsförmedlingen can receive advertisements in languages other than Swedish and English 1 2. L argues that a palette of measures is required to improve commuting and that the issue of languages in advertisements is on Arbetsförmedlingen's agenda 2 3. S argues that small business owners in Denmark cannot advertise in Danish in Platsbanken and requests concrete measures to solve this simple problem 4 5. S expresses disappointment over the government's reluctance to give a clear statement 5 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Mats Persson (L)
Madam Speaker! Heléne Björklund has asked me what measures I intend to take to facilitate for employers in border areas to advertise in their native language so that more small business owners can advertise in Sweden and recruit Swedes. Heléne Björklund has also asked how I and the government view the possibility of adapting the language requirements in job advertisements to promote the labor market and integration in this border region.
I want to first and foremost begin by underlining the importance of safeguarding the common Nordic labor market that has existed since 1954. It should be easy to live, study, work and run businesses in the entire Nordic region and across borders. The Nordic labor market is in many ways well-integrated. Working on the other side of the border is natural for many people.
At the same time, the Nordic countries are below the European average regarding precisely cross-border commuting. In order for us to collectively live up to our objective and take advantage of the potential that a fully integrated region offers, we need to increase the pace of work to remove border barriers. During the Swedish chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2024, the government is actively working towards this in the relevant ministerial constellations and in the Border Barriers Council.
As part of the Swedish presidency, a conference was organized in Malmö at the beginning of the summer to mark 70 years of a common Nordic labor market. The spotlight was directed towards what the common labor market has meant for the Nordic countries, but above all towards what we need to further develop to ensure increased cross-border labor mobility and to address common challenges such as skills shortages and matching. Specific challenges for the Öresund region were also highlighted here.
In order to get more people to work across the borders in the Öresund, several joint job fairs have been organized in recent years by various actors in the region, including Arbetsförmedlingen, Styrelsen för arbetskraft och rekrytering, Greater Copenhagen, Öresunddirekt, Malmö stad, Köpenhamns kommun, Helsingborgs stad and Helsingörs kommun. During the job fairs, Danish and Swedish employers have had the opportunity to meet job seekers from the entire region.
The Öresund region is an engine for Swedish and Danish growth. Every day, tens of thousands of commuters cross the Öresund and contribute important key competencies for both Sweden and Denmark. Therefore, it is important that the Öresund region also has a well-functioning labor market.
On June 10 this year, Sweden and Denmark signed a new Öresund agreement which will result in major improvements for both cross-border commuters and their employers and create a better labor market in the Öresund. The new agreement will make it more attractive to cross-border commute as it will become easier for Danish employers to hire commuters from Sweden and smoother for commuters to work from home. The ambition is for the agreement to enter into force in 2025 if possible.
Madam Speaker! Regarding the possibilities to advertise for labor or seek work across national borders, there are already many opportunities for this today, both via the Employment Service's platform Platsbanken and other Swedish job placement services, in Denmark via state-run Jobcenters, as well as via Eures. Common to Platsbanken, Jobcenter, and Eures is that employers can choose to write the advertisements in the national language or in English. However, there is no regulation that prevents the Employment Service from receiving advertisements in other languages, and I know that the agency is including the issue in its development work.
I conclude that much has been done and is being done to promote the labor market and integration in the Öresund region, not least now during our chairmanship of the Nordic Council. I follow the ongoing work with great interest, and the government is not averse to considering further measures so that more people can be offered job opportunities across the borders.
Heléne Björklund (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank Minister Persson for the answers.
It is fantastic to hear about the government's commitment to the work of removing border barriers. It is an ambition that is shared with the Swedish delegation of the Nordic Council, and we will focus on this when the Nordic Council's session takes place here in Sweden next year. It was during a study trip to the Öresund region that we in the Swedish delegation were alerted to this issue. We members, of all political colors, were alerted then to the actually very small issue that the interpellation concerns.
As I write in the interpellation, there is in Skåne and the Öresund region a unique opportunity for integration and cooperation across the border between Sweden and Denmark. Right now, it is a particularly favorable situation to live in Sweden and work in Denmark. It is also the case that unemployment is incredibly high in Malmö - around 12 percent - while employers in the capital region of Copenhagen, on the other side of the border, are crying out for labor.
It is, after all, the government's ambition that we should have low unemployment throughout the country, including in Skåne and the Malmö region. One of the issues that arose was precisely that small business owners in Denmark cannot advertise in Danish on the Swedish Platsbanken. Many have tried to advertise, but when they translate, the advertisement becomes incorrect. They have therefore stopped. It was a low-hanging fruit we were tipped off about: If something could be done about this – while simultaneously looking at the major moves that the Minister here has presented – it would be a factor that made it a bit easier to recruit Swedes from Skåne.
I therefore want to repeat my question: what measures does the Minister intend to take to resolve this small issue for Arbetsförmedlingen.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Mats Persson (L)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Heléne Björklund, for your commitment!
The undersigned was in Copenhagen last week and took part of the same problematic issues that the member has taken part of. I have also received the information since earlier. Overall, one can say that we now have a situation where Denmark, just as Heléne Björklund describes, has very low unemployment and a nearly doped economy driven by Europe's highest-valued company, the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. This means that the Danish economy sucks up actually all existing labor.
It is clear that this creates great opportunities for Sweden. It creates great opportunities for southern Sweden, not least Skåne, if more people can commute across the bridge to take the vacant jobs that exist on the Danish side. From the government's side, I see great potential in this; I see that there are great gains for both Denmark and Sweden if we can get the work commuting to function better.
I envision that a palette of measures may be required to step by step, slowly, improve the possibilities for commuting - it is not that it does not work today, but it can become noticeably better - and the issues that Heléne Björklund raises are something that I know Arbetsförmedlingen has its eyes on. As the undersigned indicated in the response, there is currently no obstacle for Arbetsförmedlingen to change this, and I know that it is an issue that is being carried forward in its upcoming development work.
Many thanks for your commitment to this issue, Heléne Björklund!
Heléne Björklund (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you again, Minister Persson!
The Minister describes several measures being taken in the area of the labor market and for cross-border commuting. I welcome them, and I hope that we will pursue these issues together – jointly.
Regarding the small question about changing how one can advertise, after I received the written interpellation answer, I have been in contact with Öresunddirekt, who says that the problem persists. It clearly states in Arbetsförmedlingen's terms that one may only advertise in Swedish and English. It can therefore happen that there is nothing in the ordinance that restricts it, but Arbetsförmedlingen restricts the languages on Platsbanken.
The Minister says that a lot of things are being done to improve commuting, but in this issue, it is not the commuting—that is, getting across the bridge—that is the problem, but that the companies are not succeeding in getting their job advertisements out. I must say that I am a bit disappointed by the government's reluctance to tackle this simple issue. It would be very easy to rectify.
The Minister says that Arbetsförmedlingen has the issue with them in its development work. I have been a politician for a long time, but I probably don't exactly understand what that sentence means. I would therefore like to hear some plain language on the issue. Can one still imagine doing something about this? It feels a bit fussy to have to talk about regulatory letters and ordinances when it concerns such a simple matter, but I am still genuinely curious whether the government has a will to do something about this simple problem.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Mats Persson (L)
Madam Speaker! I hope that Heléne Björklund will listen kindly when I now repeat what I said in my previous contribution, namely that we are working with a number of different measures and continuously reviewing what obstacles exist in the Öresund region and other border regions. It may require a palette of measures to step by step reduce all the obstacles that exist and make the work commute between the different countries function better. This naturally also includes the question of advertisements and which languages are used.
There are no obstacles to doing this today. We are working broadly with a number of different measures, and I do not rule out that this is an issue that will come higher up on the political agenda. I know that Arbetsförmedlingen has a development project where they generally review various things that could be improved in the operations. This is an issue that they have on their agenda.
Heléne Björklund (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister repeated that they are working on a number of different measures, which is good. My question, however, did not concern the general measures.
I could have asked a question about third-country nationals. This is perhaps the biggest measure one can work with to reduce unemployment between Skåne and Copenhagen. I understand, however, that it is more complicated and long-term.
I could also have asked a question about the mismatch that exists in the labor market. Despite the high unemployment in Sweden, every company I visit is crying out for labor – we also have that problem.
I chose to ask this simple question, and I hoped to hear: Of course – I have already heard the question, and we will raise this.
I interpreted kindly, but I still did not hear any clear message that it has been listened to, taken up in the chamber and received a positive decision, and that it will be worked on. Such a message we could have immediately sent back to Öresund.
I am grateful for the commitment and for the debate we have had. I look forward to continuing to work on removing barriers both in Skåne and in the rest of Sweden.
Arbetsmarknads- och integrationsministern Mats Persson (L)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank Heléne Björklund for this debate. I hope that we can continue to have a dialogue on these issues and that we can work together to step by step remove a number of different barriers.
I thank the member for bringing this question to my attention.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.