Response to interpellation 2024/25:204 on support for workers and trade union organizations in Ukraine
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 M argues that the government is increasing the aid-financed support to Ukraine and that the new civil society strategy creates increased transparency and efficiency by allowing more organizations to receive direct agreements with Sida 1 2. M argues that trade union organizations can still be funded and that the new model is positive for Union to Union as they avoid having to go through pre-selected organizations. 3 S argues that support to trade union organizations is not prioritized in the same way as before and that the reduction of support to Union to Union risks weakening a vulnerable group 3. 3 4 S emphasizes the need for immediate and concrete support to workers in the crisis 3 4. M argues that the government's aid strategy prioritizes economic development, decent working conditions, and productive employment in Ukraine. M believes that Sweden is actively working to ensure that Ukraine's legislation is adapted to the EU's regulatory framework regarding labor law, including the right to trade union membership. 5 M argues that the new model for civil society support is better than the old one because it removes special status for certain organizations 5. 5 M emphasizes that Sweden contributes significant support to Ukraine, both militarily and civilly, to support reconstruction and EU reforms 5.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Benjamin Dousa (M)
Madam Speaker! Azra Muranovic has asked me about the Swedish support for workers and trade union organizations in Ukraine and how I and the government justify the reduction of support to Union to Union and other civil society organizations that work for workers' rights in Ukraine and internationally, how I and the government intend to ensure that workers and trade union organizations in Ukraine receive the support they need to be able to contribute to a just reconstruction of the country and what concrete measures I and the government plan to take to ensure that trade union organizations can continue their work with strengthening workers' rights and securing democratic structures in Ukraine.
Sweden stands behind Ukraine's struggle to win the war and subsequently win peace. The government has made Ukraine the largest recipient of bilateral Swedish aid. In the budget bill for 2025, the government has announced an increase in the aid-financed support to Ukraine to cover at least 5.6 billion kronor per year 2025-2028.
Economic development and growth require investments and sustainable companies, and this naturally presupposes good working conditions.
S's strategy for Sweden's reconstruction and reform cooperation with Ukraine 2023–2027, which is implemented by among others Sida, explicitly states that the activities shall contribute to productive employment with decent working conditions. Special emphasis is placed on the economic participation of vulnerable groups, and these groups include women, youth, and internally displaced persons.
As part of the government's reform agenda for aid, the government decided in September on a new strategy and implementation model for Sweden's development cooperation with civil society 2025-2029. We are now enabling more civil society organizations to have direct agreements with Sida to contribute to ensuring that an increased proportion of the support reaches local civil society organizations in partner countries. The strategy shall contribute to a strengthened civil society in low and middle-income countries for a future beyond aid. It is now Sida's responsibility as the implementing agency to make decisions on operationalization, including which partners can receive support within it.
Through Sida, the trade union development cooperation is also supported through the International Labour Organization (ILO). Through the support, Sweden contributes to removing obstacles to more productive and decent employment for women in Ukraine by, among other things, developing new forms of childcare, supporting female entrepreneurs, and supporting Ukraine's government and relevant authorities in the implementation of recently adopted laws in the area.
Sweden is also active through the assistance to Ukraine within the EU's 19th negotiating chapter regarding social policy and employment. To meet the EU's requirements within the chapter, adaptation to international and European standards regarding labor law is required, including requirements for equality, a safe working environment, the right to trade union membership, and protection against discrimination. By supporting Ukraine to live up to the requirements set for future EU membership, Sweden also supports workers' rights.
Azra Muranovic (S)
Madam Speaker! I would first like to thank the Minister for Foreign Aid and Trade for the answer and for highlighting the government's commitment to Ukraine as the largest recipient of bilateral Swedish aid. It follows the path set by the previous Social Democratic government. It is incredibly important that we continue to hold firm and persevere after Russia's full-scale invasion.
It is also gratifying to hear about the ambition to contribute to reconstruction and economic development in Ukraine as well as to strengthen the participation of vulnerable groups in the workforce, and particularly the participation of young people and women in the labor market. But there are still many questions that remain unanswered when it comes to trade union organizations and workers' rights.
Madam Speaker! Ukraine faces enormous challenges. The reconstruction of a country that has been subjected to a brutal war of aggression requires not only economic resources but also a sense of justice that puts people and their rights at the center.
It is here that the trade union organizations play a crucial role. They are a voice for the workers, and it is the workers who will bear the heaviest burden of the reconstruction. But despite this, it does not appear from the minister's answer that the support for these organizations is not prioritized in the same way as before.
I note that the government refers to the ILO and the EU's reform chapter on labor rights as important elements in the aid. I agree with that. But they are indirect and long-term. We know that the workers in Ukraine will need immediate support and technical and concrete support right now to ensure that their rights are protected here and now, especially when the country is in the middle of a crisis and where the government has centralized power due to the circumstances and the war.
The previous support to Union to Union, which has a clear focus on strengthening trade union organizations, has played a key role in providing concrete tools to create better working conditions in Ukraine. By reducing this support, we risk weakening an already vulnerable group.
The government has expressed a desire to strengthen local civil society organizations. Therefore, my question remains: How do we ensure that this transition does not lead to established trade union actors losing resources and influence?
Along with Ukraine's ambition to become a member of the EU, there is a unique opportunity to strengthen workers' rights through the negotiations on entry requirements. But I wonder how the government ensures that the voices of the Ukrainian trade unions are taken seriously in this process and that they do not just become symbolic.
It is important for Sweden as an advocate for labor rights, human rights, and democratic values to actively work to ensure that trade union organizations are part of the negotiations and that their demands are included in the reform work.
I therefore wish to ask the minister the following questions:
How does the government ensure that support to trade union organizations continues to be a priority area within the Swedish aid to Ukraine?
Does the Minister for Foreign Affairs agree that the vacuum that Union to Union now leaves behind will be filled by the other international actors who are on site and who themselves say that Union to Union is required?
Has a consequence analysis been made of what it means to terminate the support and the agreement with Union to Union?
Statsrådet Benjamin Dousa (M)
Madam Speaker! The government is in the process of restructuring the Swedish aid policy. An important part is that we have just made Ukraine the largest recipient of Swedish bilateral aid.
Another part of the reorganization of Sweden's aid policy concerns the new strategy and implementation model for Sweden's development cooperation with civil society. It is an important part of the transition.
Through the new strategy, we now enable more civil society organizations to have direct agreements with Sida to contribute to ensuring that an increased proportion of the support reaches just local civil society organizations in partner countries, including Ukraine.
We are convinced that with that model we contribute to building viable civil societies for a future beyond aid. Sida is now in the middle of operationalizing just that model and the major reform.
The activities within the new civil society strategy shall, as far as possible, have an orientation in accordance with the government's aid policy priorities, for example poverty reduction through job creation, good working conditions, trade and education.
In the process for the strategy, Sida has now invited 50 civil society organizations to submit full applications by February 2025. Union to Union is one of those organizations. It is Sida that has the responsibility to assess which civil society organizations can and will receive support.
Another important part of the government's aid policy is not to see aid and trade as two separate tracks, but instead to try to find synergies between the two parts. In Ukraine, this is particularly important because no aid funds in the world will be able to meet Ukraine's extensive and long-term needs.
Aid is a valuable tool for combating poverty. But to create prosperity in Ukraine, private investments, a market economy, and entrepreneurship are also needed. The Ukrainian government, as well as international partners, work continuously to stimulate Ukrainian entrepreneurship and foreign investments in the country.
Sweden is, of course, also working on this. We have, for example, in the budget bill for 2025 proposed an increased volume of export credit guarantees for Ukraine and an increased budget for Swedfund that can be used for feasibility studies and investments. Since last year, we have also had a trade office in Kyiv.
Through Sweden's new aid policy, the government is now breaking new ground when it comes to finding synergies with the important trade policy. We are working to ensure quality, efficiency, and transparency. We are meeting great appreciation for our approach, not least in Ukraine.
I believe that even the Social Democrats can fundamentally agree that the old order was not particularly good. In the old strategy, it was 17 civil society organizations that year in and year out received a share of 1.8 billion kronor without it being sufficiently transparent and without competition from others. Now, more organizations can obtain direct agreements with Sida. The amounts in the strategy are at the same level as in the old strategy.
Azra Muranovic (S)
Madam Speaker! I note that the Minister unfortunately did not answer my questions concretely regarding the impact assessment and how the vacuum is to be filled.
In this time of uncertainty, we must ensure that the support for Ukraine is not only about investments and economic resources but also about building a society where justice, equality, and decent working conditions are a given. This is especially true when we are putting in so much money for a reconstruction.
It is important that Sweden takes a leading role in contributing to Ukraine's future, not least by ensuring that the country becomes a stable and just democracy. But I cannot help but feel a certain concern that such a central actor as the trade union organizations and their decisive role in this process have not received sufficient focus in the answer.
Ukraine's reconstruction will, as I said earlier, require more than just money. It requires a strong social and democratic foundation where workers' rights are protected and where their voices are heard. Trade union organizations play a crucial role in creating decent working conditions, combating inequalities and, in fact, strengthening democracy. But by reducing support to Union to Union or by terminating the agreement, the government has sent a signal that worries many of us in the labor movement but also in Ukraine.
I wrote in the interpellation that I was in Ukraine in October and met a number of the trade union actors. They are sounding the alarm about this, and they are very worried about what will happen moving forward.
It is positive that the government wants to increase support to Ukraine and that issues regarding working conditions are included in the strategy, but these initiatives lack the direct and specific support that Union to Union provided. There is a risk that this change leaves a vacuum that neither the ILO nor the EU's reform chapter can fill, especially when it comes to the acute need for support to trade union organizations in Ukraine here and now.
Future EU membership is a central part of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction work; we will not move away from that. But it is also a unique opportunity to integrate workers' rights and trade union influence into the reforms that the country needs to implement. How does the government ensure that the voices of trade union organizations are taken seriously in the upcoming negotiations?
We must not forget that Ukraine is facing an enormous labor market crisis. Recently we heard that the power grid was knocked out in many places in Ukraine, and it will affect many workers, many companies, and many civilians overall.
If we do not strengthen this, there is a risk of exploitation, poor working environments, and weakened labor law structures. We need to take this seriously.
I would therefore like to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: How is the government working together with the EU to guarantee that Ukraine's labor market reforms, in the event of future EU membership, do not only benefit the employer side but also safeguard workers' rights and trade union influence?
And what is the government doing to ensure that the trade union organizations in Ukraine not only get to be part of the conversation but also have sufficient resources to have an influence and effectively be able to participate in both the reconstruction process and the EU negotiations?
Statsrådet Benjamin Dousa (M)
Madam Speaker! I want to emphasize that through the new civil society strategy, trade union organizations in Ukraine will continue to be able to be funded by aid funds, but with increased transparency, efficiency, and pluralism.
It does not mean that previous partners, including Union to Union, will not be able to be offered new support. However, the application process shall be opened up so that more organizations will have the chance to be able to contribute to the aid goals. Fundamentally, this should be something positive for Union to Union, which will avoid having to go through one of the 17 pre-selected organizations and instead can have a direct agreement with Sida.
Sweden has since the 90s supported trade union organizations in Ukraine through Union to Union, which cooperates with the four largest central trade union organizations in Ukraine and their local trade union partners. The support to Ukraine has been about supporting trade union activities based on democratic principles and participation.
The government's aid strategy for Ukraine includes economic development as a particularly prioritized area and working towards decent working conditions and productive employment. Sweden is also, as mentioned earlier, active through aid to the EU's negotiation chapter concerning social policy and employment. To meet the EU's requirements within the chapter, adaptation to international European standards regarding labor law is required, including requirements for equality, a safe working environment, the right to trade union membership, and protection against discrimination.
Sweden has been very clear in its support for Ukraine's EU rapprochement. Also in this area, we receive a lot of appreciation from the Swedish side when we meet our Ukrainian counterparts. Sweden, of course, is actively working through aid to support Ukraine's work specifically so that the legislation can be adapted to the EU's regulatory framework.
Azra Muranovic (S)
Madam Speaker! If we are serious about building a strong, democratic and just Ukraine, which we need to do in order to also strengthen the EU, the rights of workers and trade union organizations must be taken most seriously.
I want to point out that the trade unions in Ukraine are also part of the democratic structure, as I said in my previous post. They can counter the influence of the oligarchs, they can counter corruption, and they can strengthen the workers' voices.
Reduced funding or broken agreements can undermine this role, especially when the trade union movement is already facing the challenge of maneuvering in a conflict-affected society. If the unions lose their room for maneuver, it can lead to increased social tensions, which in turn can hinder investments and prolong the period of Ukraine's economic instability.
Madam Speaker! I would therefore like to urge the government to guarantee that support to trade union organizations remains a priority within Swedish aid to Ukraine even if the funding model changes.
I want to urge the government to ensure that trade union organizations are included in discussions on labor market reforms and EU negotiations not just as symbolic actors but as real partners in influence.
I also want to urge the government to review the possibilities of reintroducing more direct support and long-term support to organizations such as Union to Union, which has a long tradition of strengthening trade union movements globally.
A Ukraine where the voices of the workers are strong is also a Ukraine that is ready for EU membership and long-term democracy. Sweden has an opportunity to lead the development, and it would be a shame if we missed the chance.
Statsrådet Benjamin Dousa (M)
Madam Speaker! As has been said earlier, the government continues to work for good working conditions in Ukraine, among other things through the strategy for development cooperation with civil society.
Keeping the old strategy as it looked was not an option. That it was 17 organizations that were given a special position with Sida has been criticized by large parts of civil society. It is even so bad that we are not even sure that the old system was completely legal and compatible with the regulatory frameworks that apply, for example, regarding impartiality as we have in Sweden.
Sweden will, of course, continue to support Ukraine in all ways we can, militarily, humanitarily, developmentally and through civil society organizations.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Sweden has contributed 57.8 billion kronor, of which military support constitutes approximately 48.4 billion while the civil support is at 9 billion kronor. This is a significant support for Ukraine, of course also long-term to support the reconstruction work and EU reform work that lies ahead for the country.
As I have said several times before, the aid agency Sida has selected 50 civil society organizations that are to submit complete applications by February 2025. Union to Union is one of these organizations, but it is Sida as an independent agency that has the responsibility to assess which civil society organizations are to have support paid in.
I think the new model is much better than the old model, where certain organizations had a special status with Sida. I hope that the Social Democrats fundamentally share that view on the new strategy.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.