Response to interpellation 2024/25:706 on the Riksdag's announcement regarding fatal accidents in working life
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 has a zero vision where no one should die at their work 1. L emphasizes that the employer has the responsibility for the work environment 1 2 and that the government has increased the appropriations to Arbetsmiljöverket 1 as well as the number of unannounced inspections 2. L states that Boverket has been tasked with preventing errors in construction projects 3. S argues that the construction industry suffers from unhealthy competition 4 and that the government's measures lack ambition 5. S demands higher appropriations for regional safety representatives 4, a crisis commission 4 6 7 and stricter sanctions 4. S wants to stop long chains of subcontractors 6 8 and demands a total review of the construction industry 6 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Arbetsmarknadsministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! Johanna Haraldsson has asked Minister Nina Larsson what initiatives she and the government have taken in connection with the Riksdag's announcement regarding fatal accidents in working life (rskr. 2023/24:166). The work within the government is distributed in such a way that it is now I who shall answer the interpellation.
According to Chapter 9, Section 8 of the Instrument of Government, the Government shall every year in a communication to the Riksdag report on what measures the Government has taken in connection with the parliamentary communications submitted to the Government. The Government will therefore return to the Riksdag in the prescribed manner regarding the announcement that the interpellor refers to.
I would still like to thank Johanna Haraldsson for raising these important issues in the chamber today. Every fatal accident is a tragedy for those involved and unacceptable for a modern working life.
According to the government's work environment strategy for the years 2021–2025 (skr. 2020/21:92), a zero vision applies. No one shall have to die at their work. No one shall also have to die from their work. It is the employer who has the responsibility for the work environment, according to the work environment legislation. Employers must prevent both fatal accidents and the work environment risks that lead to ill health in the longer term.
With knowledge and a systematic work environment management can probably the vast majority of fatal accidents and work-related deaths be prevented. Safety representatives have an important role in creating safe and secure workplaces. Collaboration with safety representatives is important to reduce the risk of serious accidents.
The government has taken a number of measures to reduce the number of fatal accidents in working life. It can be mentioned here that the Swedish Work Environment Authority shall annually report back on which measures have been taken to increase the number of unannounced physical inspections, in order to increase the possibility of detecting employers who have deficiencies. In accordance with the government's proposal in the budget bill for 2025, the Riksdag decided to allocate 50 million to the Swedish Work Environment Authority in 2025 to tighten and streamline the control of the work environment, so that fatal accidents and other serious work environment risks are prevented. The supplement is subsequently estimated to amount to 75 million in 2026 and 100 million per year from and including 2027.
The Government has also appointed an inquiry into a new work environment strategy for 2026–2030 (dir. 2024:56). The directives to the inquiry state that the government's zero vision, as expressed in among other things the work environment strategy, remains firm. It is important that the area continues to be monitored so that work-related deaths can be prevented to a greater extent. The directives state that the Riksdag on 25 April 2024 decided on an announcement to the government (rskr. 2023/24:166). According to the announcement, the government should take measures to reduce the risks of fatal accidents in working life. The inquiry presented its work on 10 June 2025, and the report A work environment strategy for a changed working life has been referred with a final date of 27 October 2025.
Johanna Haraldsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by thanking the new Minister for Employment for the answer.
Madam Speaker! Going to work should never involve a risk to life. No one should have to risk life and health. Nevertheless, we see that people continue to die at their workplaces.
The year 2023 became the deadliest year in over a decade, and the construction industry was hit hardest. The horrific elevator accident at a construction site in Sundbyberg in December 2023, where five workers lost their lives, shows the construction industry's clear dark sides. At the same workplace, 119 companies were active. They were distributed across five tiers of subcontractors. Four days after the accident, the employer still could not answer whether the deceased were his own employees or not.
This tragedy highlights the problems in an industry where responsibility is eroded by long chains of subcontractors and where people's lives are risked due to unhealthy competition and lack of control.
Against that background, we Social Democrats proposed a crisis commission for the construction sector to conduct a thorough review of the structures that repeatedly lead to accidents and fatal accidents. We proposed a crisis commission that would also have the mandate to submit proposals for measures that are judged to reduce the number of fatal accidents. The proposal unfortunately did not gain support, but the Riksdag nevertheless decided in April 2024, with the support of Sverigedemokraterna and the government parties, that the government should clarify the causes behind the fatal accidents, particularly in the construction industry.
Unfortunately, the development has continued even after this. So far this year, 31 people have lost their lives in workplace accidents in Sweden. The Director General of the Swedish Work Environment Authority has himself expressed frustration and stated that all fatal accidents could, in principle, have been prevented with systematic work environment management.
Madam Speaker! The Minister points out in his answer that Arbetsmiljöverket has received more resources, and that is good. The inspections must increase. But we are lagging far behind. The International Labour Organization, ILO, recommends one inspector per 10,000 employed. In Sweden, we would need to double the number of inspectors to reach the recommendation. Then the government's appropriation is not sufficient. But it is not unattainable. Norway, Denmark, and Finland already meet the ILO's requirements. It is a matter of prioritizing.
Safety representatives play, just as the minister says in his answer, an important role, but the appropriations for the regional safety representatives have not increased in line with the costs. The appropriations have been eroded, which has resulted in several federations being forced to scale back their activities. Increase the appropriations instead and ensure that the regional safety representatives get access to more workplaces! These are proposals that we Social Democrats have repeatedly put forward in the Riksdag without gaining support from the Tidö government.
Madam Speaker! It has now been over a year since the decision was made that the government should take measures to highlight the underlying causes of the increased number of fatal accidents in working life, with priority on the construction industry and other industries that have been particularly vulnerable. We Social Democrats wanted the announcement to be formulated in a different way and be clearer. But the government parties themselves stood behind the Riksdag's announcement, and I now wonder how the announcement has affected the government's work.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! I also want to extend a warm welcome to the new minister to the chamber. There is no lack of variation considering that it is the third minister in order, but just as welcome is the minister for that.
In the answer, the Minister states that it appears in the investigation and the directive that the government's zero vision, as expressed in, among other things, the work environment strategy, remains firm. These are areas where it is important to continue to monitor so that work-related deaths can be prevented to a greater extent. Only a few weeks ago, we were able to read what the Work Environment Authority expresses: When the proposed measures that are presented and included are not taken, it is as is said in the zero vision and the strategy is not sufficient. There are proposals in the strategy and in the follow-up to achieve the zero vision, but not all the measures that are proposed have been taken. It is also noted that the accidents are not decreasing either.
One of my questions to the Minister is: Why is it sufficient to only monitor this issue? I want to include a recommendation with the investigation for a new strategy that there should also be a plan so that the measures proposed become more than just suggestions and that they are also implemented.
It actually has not been done during this period, somewhat as my colleague pointed out earlier.
Madam Speaker! Against this background, I want to mention Axel, 15 years old, who was supposed to have started ninth grade now. A few weeks ago, he passed away. He died just in a workplace accident. He is just one of eight people who have died this summer. These accidents happen all the time.
My question is: Is enough being done? Time and again, one reads news about these types of tragedies that affect workers and their families. Is enough being done? It cannot be so.
This is one of the reasons why we Social Democrats have submitted proposals for a crisis commission. We submit proposals and press the government to take more measures in the strategies that already exist, because more must be done when there are so many people who actually never come home after going to work to earn their livelihood. This is all they have done themselves. They are exposed to a serious working environment that, in the worst case, leads to them losing their lives.
When I hear the answer, I think it lacks some ambition. My question to the Minister is therefore: Is there anything more that the Minister wants to do beyond what was stated in the interpellation answer? We Social Democrats are not satisfied and believe that more needs to be done. What does the Minister himself believe needs to be done beyond this? Or is what was stated in the answer sufficient?
Arbetsmarknadsministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! Thank you very much, Johanna Haraldsson and Sofia Amloh, for these contributions!
Let us start by being very clear. No one should risk their life or their health because of their job. That is the ambition. Everyone has the right to a safe and secure working environment. Every fatal accident is a tragedy for those involved and unacceptable for a modern working life in our country.
The year 2023 was unfortunately a very dark year with several fatal accidents at Swedish workplaces. When we look back at the year as a whole, we see that the number of deaths in workplace accidents was the highest since 2008, with a total of 63 dead. The figure decreased slightly in 2024 to 45. Just that is a horrible figure. One cannot say that anything else should apply other than that we should have a zero vision for deaths resulting from work. For 2025, the figures so far are higher than they have been for the same point in time in previous years. Just this July, three people have been killed as a result of a workplace accident.
I believe we are in complete agreement that every case where a person loses their life as a result of their work is a tragedy. It is someone's family member or colleague who will never return and never come home after the workday ends. More must be done so that 2025 does not become a year as black as 2023.
An industry that stands out in the statistics and which is mentioned here is the construction industry. On October 24, 2024, the Government gave the Swedish Work Environment Authority a mandate to develop and disseminate knowledge about safety culture in the construction industry. The Swedish Work Environment Authority shall, by December 31, 2025, at the latest, submit a written report on the assignment to the Government Offices. I look forward to receiving the report.
Measures are also being taken to recruit more safety representatives. In April 2024, Arbetsmiljöverket reported on its government mandate to ensure that more people want to engage as safety representatives. In the agency's report on the mandate, several factors are highlighted that are significant for strengthening the conditions for safety representatives. These are issues that are best handled at the respective workplace as well as jointly by the parties in the labor market.
In Arbetsmiljöverket's reporting of the assignment, several factors are highlighted that are significant for strengthening the conditions for safety representatives. This includes, among other things, training. It is about time, support, and something as human as appreciation for the work one performs.
These are, as mentioned, issues that are best handled at the respective workplace. But I also want to emphasize the role of the labor market partners in this. It is the employers, the employees, and their representatives who have to apply the work environment legislation in the daily work environment work at the individual workplaces.
Johanna Haraldsson (S)
Madam Speaker! We know that the construction industry is particularly risky. Unlike many other industries, the working environment on a construction site is constantly changing. New elements, new work crews, new machines require constant new risk assessments and new protective measures. The construction industry is today characterized by short construction times and long chains of subcontractors. The knowledge requirements are often unclear. The control is deficient. In procurement, all too often the lowest price weighs more heavily than safety. On top of all this, there is widespread occupational crime.
The Minister of Justice speaks about safety culture, and it is very important that one establishes a safety culture. But as the construction industry looks and with the specific challenges the industry has, it becomes extremely difficult to establish a common culture when there are amounts of companies at one and the same workplace, and it is almost impossible to achieve a management and governance there. I believe that one must address other fundamental problems before one can "preach" with talk of safety culture, even if it is obviously an important issue.
Due to how things look in the industry, we believe that a total review of the entire sector is needed, a crisis commission, where the structures are examined and concrete measures are proposed. That is what Byggnads has demanded, and it is what we Social Democrats have demanded in the Riksdag.
Just as expressed by the Director General of the Swedish Work Environment Authority and many before him, the vast majority of fatal accidents could have been prevented if employers had done what they are supposed to do by constantly assessing risks, preventing accidents, following up on their work environment efforts, and working systematically with the work environment. Therefore, I want to ask the Minister for Employment: How are we to get more employers to take that responsibility? How do we increase the motivation to work systematically with the work environment? How do we get the risk assessment to become better, and how do we ensure that the measures required also are implemented?
The employers bear the entire responsibility for the working environment. But how do we get them to take that responsibility? For me, it is clear, Madam Speaker, that the sanctions against employers who repeatedly fail in their responsibility must be tightened. Work environment crimes should be able to lead to a business ban. Those who repeatedly expose their employees to life-threatening danger should not have the right to run a company. It should be self-evident.
At the same time, the number of inspections must increase, and the regional safety representatives must be given enough resources to visit more workplaces and detect deficiencies in time. There must be a stop to the endless chains of subcontractors. The further down the chain one goes, the more difficult it becomes to ensure reasonable working conditions and that occupational health and safety regulations are actually followed. At every link, profit is taken and conditions and wages are squeezed. When those responsible at a workplace cannot even answer where the employees are, it is something seriously wrong.
The Minister for Employment says that we agree that more must be done. But what is the Minister for Employment's solution? When will we see concrete proposals from the government on how to address the widespread problems within the construction industry, which all too often lead to workers being injured or, in the worst cases, dying?
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! I do not trust the Minister at all regarding the zero vision. No one should ever end up harmed. Everyone should be able to come home whole and healthy and perhaps even feel a little better after their work. It is our collective goal, and the work is about pushing forward so that this happens everywhere, all the time, and for everyone.
However, it is not the reality we see. I hear the Minister describing this with a commitment to the issue. I am very pleased that it is expressed here in the chamber. But I will nevertheless continue to demand some more concrete measures that could have the effect of achieving the zero vision and ensuring that the strategies we decide on become a reality and that measures have the effect that is needed. This includes, among other things, what has been raised in the debate regarding the incredibly many chains of subcontractors.
Is the government prepared to do something about this so that there are not so many links in the construction industry, in order to reduce the risk of losing the control one has over its employees and being unable to take responsibility for the working environment? I intend to devote my final point to asking this: Does the government want to do something about the incredibly long subcontracting chains?
Arbetsmarknadsministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! It is extremely important that all actors are reminded of the clear regulatory framework that exists in the Work Environment Act, where those responsible for the work environment are identified and where cooperation in everyday life, in the systematic work environment management, is the core – a systematic work environment management where every employer, large or small, together with representatives for the employees, work preventatively to prevent all types of risks in the work.
This systematic work environment work is crucial for preventing ill health and accidents, in the worst cases such as those leading to death. Knowledge of the work environment is important to reduce work-related accidents and ill health. A good safety culture means that everyone at the workplace is aware of the risks that exist and has both the knowledge and the will to reduce them.
An example raised here of when systematic work environment management is extra important is when several different employers are active simultaneously at a workplace. This is very common within the construction and civil engineering industry, which has been highlighted here. In addition to the individual employers, the client, the project manager, and the work environment coordinators have work environment responsibility in construction projects.
In the regulatory letter for 2025, the government has tasked the Swedish Work Environment Authority with reporting on how the authority works to contribute to the prevention of fatal accidents and other serious work-related accidents. In connection with this, the authority shall specifically report on how it works with developing regulations, information, and supervision.
In the Swedish Work Environment Authority's inspections of fatal accidents, it can often be established that there have been deficiencies in the systematic work environment management. Proper risk assessments have not been carried out for the work tasks to be performed, or safety measures have not been taken or have been deficient.
During 2024, Arbetsmiljöverket increased its inspections in accordance with the mandate given by the government: to increase the number of physical unannounced inspections to increase the possibility of detecting employers that have deficiencies. The total number of such proceedings increased in 2024 by 9 percent compared to previous years, and the number of unannounced inspections increased by 60 percent.
This is good. That more inspections are being carried out is important to strengthen the control of the work environment work out at the country's workplaces. But the responsibility for the work environment still lies with the employer. The Swedish work environment legislation is based on the employer cooperating with the employees in order to achieve a good work environment. It is and will continue to be the systematic and preventive work environment work that is the foundation for a good work environment.
Johanna Haraldsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Employment, for this debate! We are in complete agreement on what is the key: the systematic work environment work. Therefore, I miss the concrete measures that would make it stronger out in the workplaces. But we will have to return to this debate more times. We still expect a little more to happen in this area. Perhaps a new Minister for Employment can contribute to that.
Madam Speaker! The year 2023 became the deadliest year. Construction sites were once again the worst affected, and we proposed a crisis commission. But instead, the Riksdag, with the government's support, decided on a significantly weaker wording. That decision was made more than a year ago. We Social Democrats believe that the decision that was made was too vague and watered down and that, instead, one should have gone with our proposal for a crisis commission.
Unfortunately, it seems we have been right. An unclear and watered-down proposal does not yield much result. No new measures have been taken, and we are treading water in the same place. The fatal accidents look set to be more this year than last year.
It is obviously not the government's fault that people die at work. But it is the government's responsibility to take measures, make decisions, and present propositions that can push back the death tolls and get employers to take their responsibility to prevent accidents in their workplaces and protect the workers' lives and health. It is the government's responsibility to ensure that criminals cannot run companies.
It is clear that a total review of the construction industry is needed to make visible the structures that constantly lead to new accidents. This is needed so that new measures can be put forward.
Arbetsmarknadsministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! Let me first just say again that the government will return to the Riksdag in the prescribed manner regarding the announcement that has been raised here today.
Let me also add a piece of the puzzle. Last spring, the government tasked Boverket with preventing errors, deficiencies, and damages from occurring in construction projects. That assignment is primarily about quality and that things should be built well. But it is close at hand to imagine that construction actors who are negligent with quality in construction may also have a deficient working environment. That assignment is to be reported by March 13 at the latest. At that time, a partial report with a focus on proposed measures shall be submitted. By May 18, 2028, Boverket will submit a further partial report of the assignment to the Government Offices. The final report shall be submitted a bit later. This assignment will also be an important part in establishing what the member highlights: There is likely a connection between unprofessional builders and accidents.
With this said, I want to sincerely thank Johanna Haraldsson for raising these important issues in the chamber today and say once again that every fatal accident is a tragedy for those involved and unacceptable for a modern working life.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.