Response to interpellation 2025/26:21 on the reduction of state grants to combat crime in the workplace
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 L argues that the government prioritizes in the budget work and that the state grant is reduced because it has been utilized to a low degree 1 2 3. 1 2 L emphasizes that the government has strengthened agency cooperation and provided resources to combat crime in the labor market 1 2. 4 L considers crime in the labor market to be something that creeps into Swedish society and the economy, affects trust between people and companies, and involves major system-threatening risks 4. 4 L argues that the appropriation has been reduced because the money has not been used and is not expected to be used 4. 5 6 S argues that the reduction is a misprioritization because the amount is very small in relation to the state budget 5 6. 5 7 6 S argues that the grant should be reshaped to become more accessible instead of being reduced 5 7 6. 6 S wants to strengthen supervision, increase sanction fees, and reintroduce initiatives on trade union consultation to clean up the labor market 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.
Arbetsmarknadsministern Johan Britz (L)
Mr. Speaker! Marie Olsson has asked me what basis I and the government have for implementing a reduction of the state grant to combat crime in the workplace instead of reshaping it and making it more accessible so that it can be used to its full potential.
I would like to begin by thanking the member for the question. As with all governments, the work with a budget bill also involves making priorities.
Workplace crime is a continued serious and extensive societal problem. The Government has extended and strengthened the mandate on agency cooperation against workplace crime and the work at the workplace crime centers until 31 December 2026 (A2024/01109). In addition to the permanent funding of the work that the nine agencies covered by the mandate perform, the Government has made several budget investments during the parliamentary term.
In the supplementary budget for 2024, the work was reinforced with 30 million kronor and in the budget bill for 2025 with 100 million kronor. For 2026, the supplement is estimated to amount to 100 million kronor, and 80 million kronor is estimated to be added from and including 2027.
According to the government mandate, Arbetsmiljöverket shall annually report on the joint agency work against crime in the working life. Arbetsmiljöverket's report for 2024 shows that more crimes are detected, more money is recovered, and more vulnerable workers are identified. In total, over 91 million kronor have been recovered due to detected irregularities.
The work against human trafficking and human exploitation is part of the work against crime in the labor market. Currently, work is underway in the Government Offices to develop a new national action plan against prostitution and human trafficking. The purpose is to consolidate the work of preventing and combating exploitation in prostitution and human trafficking for all purposes, as well as to strengthen the protection for vulnerable persons.
The government added 10 million kronor for support for the vulnerable in the budget bill for 2025. The funds have been used to finance new assignments which are, among other things, based on proposals in the report Out of Vulnerability (SOU 2023:97). In the budget bill for 2026, the government proposes that 14 million kronor per year be allocated for additional funding of the action plan during the years 2026, 2027 and 2028.
In June this year, the government tasked the Swedish Police Authority and the Swedish Prosecution Authority with strengthening the work against human trafficking and human exploitation. The assignment includes, among other things, that the authorities shall improve working methods to increase the investigative capacity and the prosecution of human trafficking and human exploitation crimes.
The Delegation against Work-Life Crime has presented a number of analyses and proposals concerning measures against work-life crime, including in matters regarding state subsidies. The final report from the Delegation against Work-Life Crime (SOU 2025:25) has been referred. The consultation period expired on September 22, 2025. The proposals are now being prepared in the Government Offices.
Marie Olsson (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thanks to the Minister for the answer to my interpellation!
Labor crime is serious. It involves, among other things, people being exploited, sometimes with elements of human trafficking. It creates dangerous work environments, distorts competition, and pushes out serious companies.
In the work against crime in the labor market, the parties in the labor market are extremely important. This type of crime is best combated by all parties together. The authorities are dependent on the parties' knowledge and proximity to reality, and the parties need authorities that act effectively and accurately.
Since 2018, the parties in the labor market have been able to apply for state grants to combat crime in the workplace. This year, this state grant is 4.5 million kronor. It is an extremely small sum in the large budget that the government has. Now, the government has announced a reduction of this grant, first to 2.5 million kronor and then to 2 million kronor from 2028. It is more than a halving of the current support – this at a time when we in Sweden have major problems with crime in the workplace. The parties in the labor market were needed to curb this.
The Minister writes in their response that the work with the budget bill involves priorities. I understand that. But in this case, the government chooses not to prioritize the small amount that the parties can apply for to jointly counteract crime in the workplace. The amount is so small in the government's budget that it can hardly be counted in per mille. The amount the government saves by removing these 2 million is 0.0013 per mille of the state's entire budget. It is not more than that.
Mr. Speaker! The Government's justification is that the state grant is utilized to a low degree – and that is correct. The state grant could have been utilized to a significantly higher degree if the support had been made more accessible. The shortcomings in the design of the support have been repeatedly pointed out to the Government. This includes, among other things, unpredictable application processes and narrow criteria.
As the Minister himself pointed out, the Delegation against workplace crime has put forward proposals where they have also urged the government to make the support more accessible. Arbetsmiljöverket has pointed out that the support should be expanded and made more accessible. LO has said the same thing. The need for the state grant exists, but it must be usable.
My question to the Minister was about what basis the government has for implementing a reduction of the state grant instead of reshaping it and making it more accessible so that it can be used to its full extent. Now, I am therefore receiving an answer from the Minister that it is about priorities in the budget work. On the expenditure side, the government's entire budget amounts to just over 1,500 billion, and one has therefore chosen to prioritize away 2 million next year and 2.5 million the year after that from this joint work of the parties against crime against the working life.
Based on the Minister's answer, I would like to ask how the government intends to support the important joint work of the parties against crime in the labor market when the state grant is being reduced to such an extent.
Arbetsmarknadsministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! I want to begin by establishing the importance of the fact that the adjustment of this state grant was preceded by careful considerations. As the member has pointed out, the state grant has until now been utilized to a low degree. It should also be emphasized in this context that the state grant has not been utilized to a greater extent than the level to which it has now been adjusted.
We are in complete agreement that crime in the workplace is a serious and extensive societal problem. I do not believe there is any doubt that this government takes all types of crime most seriously.
The core of combating crime against the working environment is the operational cooperation conducted between authorities in the seven established centers against crime against the working environment. That mission has now been extended until 31 December 2026. We have reinforced this work and added even more resources to the work against crime against the working environment.
I can state that the Swedish Work Environment Authority's latest annual report on agency cooperation against crime in the workplace, which was presented in May 2025, provides a positive picture of how the agencies cooperate and how control activities have developed. One example is the new legislation on removing secrecy barriers between the agencies that the government has initiated. It has been particularly highlighted in the annual report as an important step toward combating crime in the workplace more effectively.
The Delegation against Work-Life Crime has additionally presented a number of analyses and proposals concerning measures against work-life crime – including in the matter of state grants, which the member raised. As I said earlier, the final report has been referred, the consultation period has expired, and we are continuing to work on those proposals in the Government Offices.
Marie Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! The funds that the government is now first reducing by almost half and then reducing even further have enabled important initiatives. One such initiative is the noted project at Västlänken in Gothenburg, which concerns removing criminal and unscrupulous actors from procurement processes. Within the cleaning industry, vulnerable workers have been helped from unscrupulous and criminal employers to serious employers with good working conditions. This is not about symbolic politics but about investments that have actually made a concrete difference and created change in people's lives.
The Minister says once again that the motive is that the state grant has been utilized to a low degree. There are several proposals on how the state grant could be used fully and in a significantly better way, but instead, this government chooses to reduce the grant significantly.
The conditions for being able to practically carry out projects based on today's design of these state grants are quite poor. Over the years, projects with the potential to combat crime in the workplace have also been rejected. The Government has the opportunity to redo it and do the right thing instead, but it chooses the easy way and reduces the grant by referring to low utilization rates and priorities in the budget.
In this case, it is not about a lack of need or a lack of will. It is the absence of political decisions, governance, and political will that is why the support has not been utilized more.
I still want to assert that crime in the working life is best combated together, and the parties in the labor market are extremely important. The purpose of the state grant is precisely to cooperate.
Madam Speaker! Just as the Minister said in his response, the Delegation against crime in the labor market has presented proposals for measures against crime in the labor market. This includes, among other things, state grants that also cover opportunities for labor organizations to receive compensation for costs to assist foreigners who do not have the right to stay in Sweden so that they can receive help according to the Act on the right to wages and other compensation for the work they have actually performed.
There are, therefore, proposals to expand the possibilities for the parties in the labor market to apply for grants – even if it may come in a different form of grant. The government is, however, reducing the grant in a situation where more money may be needed.
I want to point out once again the importance of all of us helping each other in the work against crime in the workplace. The participation from the parties in the labor market is crucial in that work. The authorities need the parties, and the parties need the authorities.
As politicians, we need to contribute to creating the conditions for this participation, and one of the conditions is that we allocate funds that they can apply for. They must also have the opportunity to apply in as effective and simple a way as possible, because it has been quite complicated to get these funds out until now.
I would like to conclude this contribution by asking the Minister why the government has not listened to all the bodies that have criticized the design of the grant and looked at how the grant can instead be redesigned so that it can be fully utilized. I also wonder why one is not awaiting the proposals that have come from the Delegation against crime in the labor market. There are, in fact, proposals there to create additional opportunities for grants to – in that case – workers' organizations.
Arbetsmarknadsministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! I still think it is important to establish that we are in complete agreement on what we want to achieve. Then we can have slightly different approaches regarding methods.
I shall however say that the government agrees with the member's description of the labor market parties as important actors in this work. Again: The reason the grant has been reduced is that the money has not been used. Even though one might think that, in the grand scheme of a state budget, it concerns small sums, it is still the case that many small sums become larger sums on the bottom line of a state budget.
I am not at all unfamiliar with developing this work, and the role of the labor market parties in that work, with the aim of achieving a more effective way to combat crime in the workplace. The delegation against workplace crime, which I mentioned earlier and which we have talked about here, has submitted proposals to the government. Those proposals have been referred and are being prepared in the Government Offices, but we are not finished with that preparation. Therefore, it is reasonable to wait with any adjustments to the appropriation.
Marie Olsson (S)
Madam Speaker! We Social Democrats want to launch a very broad program with long-term and powerful measures to clean up the Swedish labor market.
Among other things, we want to strengthen supervision in high-risk industries, increase sanction fees and broaden them to more areas, exclude unreasonably low bids in public procurement, and legislate to, as a rule, limit the number of subcontractor levels to two in industries with a high risk of labor market crime. We know, for instance, approximately which industries have relatively high labor market crime.
We also want to reintroduce the initiative on trade union consultation, strengthen the regional safety representative activity, and improve the follow-up of A1 certificates in order to bring more order and clarity to the labor market. On the same theme, we want more funding for the Swedish Work Environment Authority. It is about strengthening the work against both work-related fatal accidents and crime in the workplace.
These are some of the measures that we see as extremely important to tackle crime in the labor market, and in all that work, the parties in the labor market are extremely important. It is crucial that they are with us in the work. We are dependent on each other to succeed in putting a stop to this.
I still want to assert that it is not a sustainable argument to refer to priorities in the budget when it, as stated, in fact concerns 0.0013 per mille of the government's budget. The fact that the grant has not been fully utilized is also not a sustainable argument because there are proposals on how the grant could be modified so that it could be applied for in a much broader way.
For me, it unfortunately appears more as if the government in this case has chosen to down-prioritize the opportunities for the parties in the labor market to be involved in and develop the work against crime in the working life. We Social Democrats consider this a misprioritization. I still hope that the government can rethink and show that one prioritizes the joint work of the parties.
Arbetsmarknadsministern Johan Britz (L)
Madam Speaker! I think the discussion we are having is very important. Crime in the labor market is something that creeps into the capillaries of Swedish society and the Swedish economy. It affects the trust between people, and it affects the trust between companies. It involves, I would say, major system-threatening risks. Let us therefore establish that, and let us establish that we are completely in agreement – I believe – on where we should go.
It may sound a bit bureaucratic and boring, but I still come back to the fact that the money has not been used and is not expected to be used. Therefore, we have reduced the appropriation. We have received proposals that are being prepared, and before we have prepared those proposals, it would be, so to speak, strange to also make appropriation changes. That is simply how I see the matter.
What we have done instead – just to relate to the member's contribution regarding inspections or supervision in high-risk industries – is to provide resources to Arbetsmiljöverket for precisely inspections and for inspections to be carried out together with other authorities, such as Migrationsverket, Polismyndigheten and so on, so that one can address the illegal and dangerous activities that exist in some of our workplaces.
I believe and hope that we will be able to continue discussing this issue. This is a common task that we all have in safeguarding Swedish society and trust. I thank you very much for this discussion.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.