Sweden

The level of union membership in Sweden is high – at between 66% and 69% – and, although it has fallen from its peak of 85% in 1993, it has been broadly stable since 2008. There are three main union confederations, LO, TCO and Saco, which are divided along occupational and educational lines in line with the traditional way in which Swedish employees are grouped, and there is considerable co-operation between them. 1

Union density and structure

There are some 3.6 million trade unionists in Sweden and, although there are a number of non-employed members, particularly students and pensioners, the level of union organisation among employees is high. According to the most comprehensive regular study of union density, undertaken by Anders Kjellberg at Lund University, it was 69% in 2024. 2 The estimate from the OECD database of industrial relations statistics is that union density was 65.9% in 2024, a figure that has fallen only very slightly 2008, when it was 68.6%. 3

There are three main union confederations in Sweden, each dealing with a different part of the occupational structure. The largest is LO which has 1,356,836 members and organises manual workers. The second largest is TCO, which has 1,280,164 members and organises mostly non-manual workers. The smallest confederation is Saco which organises graduate employees. It has 986,513 members. 4 (All figures are for the end of 2025.) Between 2019 and 2021, TCO was the largest of the three confederations, but on 1 January 2022, the teachers’ union Lärarförbunde, left TCO to join SACO, and LO again became the largest confederation, although on current trends this may change (see Membership trends).

There is also a managers’ association Ledarna, which is outside the three confederations and had 99,561 members at the end of 2025. 5 Other smaller bodies outside the main confederations include the pilots’ union, unions which organise fire fighters and dockers, and the radical SAC union, known as the sindicalists.

The figures quoted above are total membership figures. The number of union members active in the labour market, excluding students and pensioners, is lower. Saco, with many student members, has the largest gap between all members and economically active members, with a total membership of 986,513 and 756,148 economically active members at the end of 2025. 6 At LO, total membership was 1,362, 525 and economically active membership was 1,176,701, and at TCO, total membership was 1,263,711 and active membership was 1,104,414, all figures for the end of 2024. 7

Relations between the federations are generally good and there are agreements between most LO and TCO unions to help resolve potential conflicts over membership. There is, however, greater scope for competition between TCO and Saco as some employees can choose between unions in either confederation. There are also comparison websites, which allow potential members to assess the relative benefits offered by competing unions. In practice employees, however, will normally join the union which has a collective agreement with their employer.

Individual unions

Both the LO and the TCO are broadly structured on an industry basis while Saco is based on its members’ occupations.

By far the largest union in LO is the local authority workers’ union, Kommunal, with 500,735 members. The second largest is IF Metall, which has 291,090 members and organises in the metal, building components, textile and clothing industries. These two are followed by the retail union, Handels, with 152,569 members, the construction union Byggnads, with 103,480, and the service and communications union, SEKO, with 98,180. All these figures are for 31 December 2025. 8 In total, LO has 13 affiliated unions.

The largest TCO union is Unionen, which organises administrative and technical employees in industry as well as workers in retail and distribution. With 730,346 members, it account for more than half TCO’s total, and it is the largest union in Sweden. The next largest is Vision, the union for non-manual local and central government employees, which has 221,818 members, and the third largest TCO affiliate is Vårdförbundet, which organises nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals. It has 118,079 members. ST, the union for non-manual central government employees, has 100,773 These figures relate to 31 December 2025, and TCO has 12 affiliated unions. 9

Saco’s biggest union is now the teachers’ union, Sveriges Lärare, with 294,981 members. It was formed in January 2023, when Lärareförbundet, which had previously been a TCO affiliate and joined Saco in 2021, amalgamated with an existing Saco-affiliated teachers’ union, Lärarnas Riksförbund. 10 The second-largest is Sveriges Ingenjörer, the association of graduate engineers with 185,017 members, and, following a merger between two Saco affiliates on 1 January 2020, the third-largest is Akavia, which organises lawyers, managers, computer experts and economists and has 144,719 members. Other major Saco unions are Akademikerförbundet, which has 82,513 members and organises social scientists, and the doctors’ union, Sveriges läkarförbund, which has 60,599 members. Saco has 21 affiliated unions. 11

The ending of centralised bargaining has reduced the power of the confederations and individual unions now have greater room for manoeuvre and greater influence, although the confederations still play a role in co-ordinating union claims (see Collective bargaining). Overall, individual unions have considerable independence. One clear example was the decision of LO’s two largest unions, Kommunal and IF Metall in December 2020 to reach an agreement with the employers on new employment protection legislation, which had previously been rejected by LO as a whole. 12

Political position

The LO has a long tradition of a close relationship with the Swedish Social Democrats. LO’s president, its most senior figure, is a member of the party’s executive. The ties have, however, loosened over time. The two other confederations stress their party-political independence.

It is also possible to look at the views of trade union members, as the official statistics office, Statistics Sweden, produces figures on political party preferences, broken down by union. The latest figures, for May 2025, show that the Social Democrats are the party with the highest level of backing among all three union confederations. Among LO members, 44.8% supported the party in 2025; among TCO members support for the Social Democrats was at 34.7%, and among SACO members it was 36.3%. These figures are higher than the level of support for the Social Democrats among all employees, which was 34.5% in 2025. 13

Legal framework

Freedom of association, which includes the right to form or join a trade union, is one of the freedoms guaranteed in the Swedish constitution, although the constitution also states that this right “can be restricted in an ordinary act of law, on certain conditions”. 14

Unlike in some other EU states, there is no specific legislation regulating unions’ operations or setting out the full range of union rights. In Sweden, issues that elsewhere are dealt with through legislation are frequently left to collective agreements. However, there are areas where the law plays an important role. The Co-determination in Working Life Act (MBL), passed in 1976, gives specific rights to unions in relation to workplace changes (see Workplace representation Tasks and rights), and the Position of Trade Union Representatives in the Workplace Act (FML), passed in 1974, guarantees time off for union representatives at the workplace (see Workplace representation Time off and other resources). In addition, legislation plays a central role in occupational safety and health (see Health and safety representation)

Membership trends

Figures from Anders Kjellberg at Lund University show that while the proportion of employees who are union members has fallen from a high point of 85% in the mid-1990s, since around 2008, it has remained stable at around 70%. 15 The latest figure for 2024 is 69%. This period of stability follows a large fall from 77% in 2006 to 71% in 2008 when the centre-right government altered the legislation on unemployment benefit insurance, which is often paid together with union membership contributions.

However, while overall union density has remined stable since 2008, the density among manual workers has fallen from 71% in 2008 to 58% in 2024, while among non-manual workers it has risen from 72% to 74% over the same period.

Union density is higher in the public sector at 79%, than in the private sector at 64%. These figures are for 2024; in 2008, union density was 84% in the public sector and 65% in the private sector. The industry with the lowest union density is hotels and catering where only 32% of employees were union members in 2024.

These changes, together with a teachers’ union moving from the TCO confederation to Saco, have had an impact on the size of the three confederations, with LO getting smaller, while TCO has grown and Saco’s membership has shot up, as the figures in the table show.

Union membership (excluding pensioners and students)

Women

A majority of trade unionists in Sweden are women. Overall, in 2024, women accounted for 53% of all trade unionists, with the figures varying between the confederations: 49% in LO, 53% in TCO and 62% in Saco. In other unions, the most important of which is the managers’ union Ledarna, women made up 34% of the total. Union density is also higher among women, at 74%, than among men, at 64%. 16

The key level for collective bargaining in Sweden is the industry level, although, within the industry-level framework, around 91% of employees have part of their pay determined by local level negotiations, and 28% have all their pay determined locally. The overall level of coverage of collective agreements is high – estimated at 88%. 17

Collective bargaining coverage and structure

Industry-level bargaining is key to setting pay and conditions in Sweden and collective bargaining coverage is high. The most recent analysis, undertaken by Anders Kjellberg at Lund University indicates that 83% of employees in the private sector work for employers who are covered by collective bargaining and 100% of workers in the public sector (figures for 2023). 18 This produces an overall level of collective bargaining coverage of 88%, a figure which has remined virtually unchanged for more than 10 years. 19

The OECD database similarly estimated coverage at 88% in 2024. 20 This is also the figure quoted by the official Swedish National Mediation Office (Medlingsinstitutet). 21 One reason for this high level of coverage is that agreements cover all employees of an employer, who has either signed an agreement or is a member of an employers’ association signing an agreement, whether or not the individual is a member of the union. As a result, collective bargaining coverage, at 88%, is around 20 percentage points higher than union density, at between 69% to 66% (see Union density and structure).

Collective bargaining in the private sector takes place at three levels:

• between union groupings and the main cross-industry employers’ associations at national level;
• between the individual unions or groups of unions and employers’ industry associations at industry level; and
• between the company and the local union at local level.

In almost all cases at all three levels, there are separate agreements for manual and non-manual workers signed by the manual and non-manual unions.

Negotiations on non-wage issues at national level continue to play an important role in areas like occupational pensions, sickness insurance, death in service benefits, work injury insurance and restructuring. These agreements are cross sectoral and not limited to specific industries.

Although crucial for these issues, national negotiations no longer set pay for the whole economy, as they did for around 30 years between the mid-1950s and the mid-1980s. However, the manual workers’ union confederation LO, still aims for a coordinating role when wage claims are drawn up by its affiliates. This is not the case in the two non-manual confederations, TCO and Saco. In 2025, the key common LO demands were a call for specific mechanisms to improve the pay of the lowest-paid workers and higher pay for part-time workers working longer than their normal hours. 22

This means that the around 600 industry-level negotiations, between unions and groups of unions (see Who negotiates?) and employers’ associations, have the key role in setting pay, although there is a lot of room for variation at company or organisation level (see below).

However, not all sets of industry-level negotiations are equally important, as a crucial aspect of collective bargaining in Sweden is the understanding that the pay increases agreed for manufacturing industry should set the upper limit for pay increases elsewhere.

This idea, that no pay increases should be higher than those for industries that face international competition, goes back to the industry agreement of 1997. 23 Since then both unions and employers have generally accepted this “norm” or “mark” as the limit applying to all agreements, although it has also been criticised. (In 2018, unions in the bargaining group 6F, representing workers in construction and other industries serving the domestic market argued that the system disadvantaged manual workers, and the municipal workers’ union Kommunal has criticised it for limiting progress towards gender equality on pay. 24)

Although pay for the vast majority of Swedish employees is set by industry-level agreements, their impact depends on how they are implemented locally, with substantial variation between industries.

In its analysis, the Mediation Office divides agreements into seven categories, depending on the extent to which local negotiations determine pay levels. 25

At one end of the spectrum are so-called “figureless agreements”, where the amount of the pay increase is set entirely through negotiations at local level. At the other end there are agreements which set out the pay increase for all employees. Between these two, there are various types of agreement, which give greater or less autonomy to local negotiators.

The options include: a fall-back increase, which applies a national agreed figure when the local negotiators cannot agree; an agreed increased amount, but with distribution of this pay pot left to local negotiations; and a basic increase for all employees with an additional amount to be agreed locally.

The type of increase found most widely is a combination of a nationally and locally agreed amount – a set pay pot with distribution agreed locally, sometimes with guaranteed individual pay increase. In 2025-26 47% of 3.8 million employees, covered by 617 agreements, had pay increases in this form. 26

The exact proportions of workers in each of these seven categories can change from one pay round to the next. However, the figures show that manual workers are more likely to have all or a substantial part of their pay increases determined in the industry agreements themselves, while non-manual workers have a larger share of their pay increases agreed locally. Public sector agreements have also tended to give greater scope to local negotiators in setting pay. However, this became less marked in 2024, when some public sector agreements in the regions and municipalities moved from being figureless to setting the pay range in the agreements themselves. 27

Variations in collective bargaining coverage

Although overall collective bargaining coverage is high, at 88%, there are some variations between industries, as shown in the table. The lowest levels of coverage are in information and communication – 55%, and legal and economic services – 59%. The high levels of coverage in public administration – 100%, education – 99% and health and social care – 97%, are in part a result of the fact that these services are either entirely (public administration) or largely (education and health and social care) provided by the public sector, where all employees are covered by collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining coverage in 2024

Sampling issues in industries with lower levels of coverage mean that in these industries the statistics for coverage may vary from year to year.

Extending agreements

There is no mechanism for extending collective agreements to employers who are not party to the agreement. However, as the 2019 ETUI report on bargaining points out, unions regularly put pressure on employers on employers who are not covered by the appropriate collective agreement for their industry to agree to be bound by its terms. The 2025 annual report from the Mediation Office refers to eight local disputes on this issue in the food industry. 28

Allowing local variations

Industry-level agreements often allow for substantial local negotiation (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure). However, setting worse terms and conditions than the agreement provides for is only possible if the agreement specifically permits this.

Who negotiates?

National-level cross industry agreements, covering issues like pensions and sickness insurance are signed for manual workers, by the manual workers’ union confederation LO, and for non-manual workers in most of the private sector by the union grouping, PTK, which brings together unions from the two non-manual confederations, TCO and Saco, as well as the managers’ union Ledarna. There are different groupings of unions negotiating in some graduate only areas and for non-manual unions in the public sector, where the union grouping OFR plays a similar role to PTK in the private sector. 29 The employers’ associations involved, vary depending on the sector, although the most important is the main private sector employers’ body, Svenskt Näringsliv

At industry level, negotiations are between the employers’ associations and national level unions. The annual reports from the National Mediation Office show that around 50 unions and 55 employers’ associations are involved in bargaining at industry level. However, most unions work together in permanent bargaining groups to draw up a common platform for negotiations with the employers, although individual unions are able to act individually and agreements are signed by individual unions. 30 These negotiating groupings, sometimes known as cartels, can include unions from all three union confederations operating in the negotiating area concerned, plus, in some cases, the managers’ union Ledarna.

The most important negotiating cartels is Facken inom industrin (Unions in industry), a grouping of five unions, three in LO and one each in TCO and Saco. This cartel signs the industry agreement, which sets the norm for other negotiators (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure). Another negotiating cartel is 6F, made up of four unions in construction, all in LO, while the non-manual union groupings PTK and OFR are also involved in pay negotiations as well as on broader issues. 31

Negotiations at company or organisation level on the implementation of industry-level deals take place between the individual employer and the local union organisation (“the club” – see Workplace representation). However, as the ETUI study on collective bargaining points out, where there is no union club, a union official from the local or regional branch of the union will often negotiate how the deal is to be implemented. 32 In addition, in some cases, pay increases will be decided in discussions between the employer and the individual employee. The National Mediation Office describes this as the “salary discussion model”. 33

Industrial action

The right to strike (and the right of the employer to lockout workers) is provided for in article 14 of the Instrument of government (Regeringsformen), one of four fundamental laws that make up the Swedish constitution. It states: “A trade union or an employer or employers’ association shall be entitled to take industrial action unless otherwise provided in an act of law or under an agreement”. 34

Legislation setting out the circumstances under which workers can strike is set out in the Co-determination in Working Life Act (MBL). 35 In broad terms this legislation states that neither side may take industrial action as long as the collective agreement covering the two parties is valid, and collective agreements set out further procedural rules. However, strikes and other action in sympathy or solidarity with other union members in dispute are legal.

There is no requirement to conduct a ballot of members, but both unions and employer must give seven working days’ notice to the other party and to the Mediation Office of the intent to begin industrial action. The Mediation Office has a major role in attempting to resolve industrial conflicts and, although much of this relies on the voluntary cooperation of the parties, in certain circumstance it can appoint mediators without the approval of the two sides.

Where industrial action occurs in breach of the obligations, either in law or in collective agreement, the party in breach may be liable to pay damages.

Strikes are relatively rare in Sweden, with the number of days lost to industrial action in the low thousands most years (see table). The higher figures for 2024 and 2025 reflect a national dispute in healthcare in 2024, which resulting in almost 33,000 lost working days, and the conflict between the union IF Metall and the carmaker Tesla over the company’s’ refusal to sign an agreement, which has led to 31,000 days lost at local level, mostly in 2024 and 2025.

Number of working days lost to industrial action: 2016-25

Length and timing of agreements

Since 2023, most agreements have been staged agreements over two years, although before that three-year agreements were more common. Not all agreements have the same two-year cycle, but most do. In 2025, 549 agreements were signed and in 2024 just 56, although they included some large agreements in municipal government. 36

Most agreements start in the spring, in March, April and May, and both sides normally try to reach a new agreement before the old one has expired. This is specifically stated as an objective in the industry agreement, as well as several others.

Subjects covered in agreements

As already stated, a range of issues, such as topping up sick pay, compensation for accidents or pension levels that exceed state provision, both for disability and in old age, are dealt with through national level bargaining.

Industry-level agreements primarily cover pay and working time, including details of both minimum rates (see Minimum wage) and pay for more experienced workers, overtime and standby rates, the length and scheduling of working hours, and holidays and holiday pay. However, they also cover issues like pensions and training, pay for travelling time, the employer’s right to plan working time and the return of the long-term unemployed to the labour market.

Local level negotiations cover the implementation on industry-level agreements, and local union organisations are also involved in negotiating change at their workplace (see Workplace representation).

Trends in collective bargaining

In contrast to some other countries, the proportion of workers covered by collective bargaining has not declined in recent years. Figures from the Mediation Office show the proportion of the private sector covered has fluctuated between 82% and 85% between 2005 and 2024, and, as all public sector workers are covered, the proportion of all employees has ranged between 88% and 90% over the same period.

Minimum wage

Sweden does not have a statutory minimum wage, with both unions and employers in agreement that pay levels should be determined through collective bargaining.

Joint employer/union body at national level

Unlike many other countries, Sweden does not have a tripartite consultation structure bringing together unions, employers and the government. Swedish unions and employers are reluctant to see government encroachment into areas of industrial relations they consider should be reserved to them.

Workplace representation for employees in Sweden is through the local union at the workplace. There is no other channel. Legislation requires the employer to inform and negotiate with the unions at the workplace before making major changes, and many of the practical arrangements for doing so, which elsewhere in Europe are fixed by law, are left to local negotiations in Sweden.

The basic structure

In Sweden it is trade unions who provide employee representation at work. There is no separately elected structure along the lines of the works councils which exist in many other European states. This reflects the Swedish model, in which key aspects of industrial relations are determined directly between employers and trade unions, with limited involvement by the state. It is also possible thanks to the high level of union density (66% to 69% in 2024 – see Union density and structure), which means that, in most workplaces, unions represent the vast majority of employees.

However, although the Swedish model is built on trust between the parties and union strength, the structure of employee representation at work is underpinned by three pieces of legislation, which were passed in the 1970s, although they have subsequently been amended. These are: the Co-determination in Working Life Act (MBL), passed in 1976; the Position of Trade Union Representatives in the Workplace Act (FML), passed in 1974; and Work Environment Act (AML), passed in 1977. 37 The Work Environment Act deals with health and safety, but it is an important aspect of employee representation at the workplace, as the local union representative is frequently also the local health and safety/work environment representative.

However, this legislation, particularly Co-determination in Working Life Act (MBL), is much less prescriptive than comparable legislation in other countries, leaving the details to be decided between the employer and the union. Under Section 11 of the MBL the employer is obliged to initiate negotiations with the union before taking “any decision regarding significant changes in its activities” or “regarding significant changes in working or employment conditions”. However, with some exceptions, the precise nature of these changes is not spelled out in the legislation, and the union has a further opportunity to raise issues in Section 12 of the MBL (see Tasks and rights).

However, the rights in Sections 11 and 12 of the MBL are generally limited to unions with whom the employer already has a collective agreement, and, although there are some exceptions (see below), the principle, that workplace representation is through the union with which the employer already negotiates, is central to the Swedish system.

As well as having more extensive negotiating rights under the co-determination legislation (MBL), unions which have a collective agreement covering the employer are also the only bodies which can appoint representatives under the FML, the separate legislation covering trade union representatives in the workplace. And it is also unions with an agreement covering the employer which initially appoint safety representatives under the work Environment Act, the AML.

Where a union does not have a collective agreement which covers the employer, its position is much weaker. It does not have the right to appoint a workplace representative under the FML, and it has fewer negotiating rights under the MBL. The employer still has an obligation to negotiate in respect of the working or employment conditions of individual employees, who are members of that union. But, without a collective agreement covering the union’s members, there is generally no obligation to negotiate about the employer’s own activities. (This is less of a barrier in Sweden than it would be in other countries as 88% of employees are covered by collective bargaining – see Collective bargaining coverage and structure)

Two exceptions to this rule are provisions covering redundancies and business transfers, two topics covered by EU legislation. In these two areas, under Section 13 of the MBL, the issue must be negotiated with “all affected employees’ organisations”, in other words with all the unions with members in the workplace affected by either the redundancy or the business transfer, whether or not they have a collective agreement with the employer.

It is also important to emphasise that although the employer has an obligation to negotiate, there is no obligation for these negotiations to end with an agreement, and that, other than in a few circumstances (see Tasks and rights), the union has no veto powers over the employers' plans. The ultimate right of management to manage, initially recognised more than a century ago in the central collective agreement of 1906 – the so-called “December compromise”, still applies. Indeed, even where an employer takes a decision before negotiating – and so potentially acts contrary to the MBL (the legislation allows action before negotiations in extraordinary circumstances) – the decision is not invalid. Instead, the employer must fulfil the negotiating obligations. Failure to do so can result in substantial damages.

The extent of workplace representation

There is no legal obligation to set up employee representation at the workplace, but Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey 2024 reports that 80% of employees in Sweden have representatives where they work, which in almost every case will be the local union. This percentage is well above the EU average of 53%. 38

The results of Eurofound’s 2019 European Company Survey also show levels of employee representation that are well above the EU average. In 2019, half (50%) of establishments in Sweden with at least 10 employees had a trade union representative. This was well above the EU27 average of 29% for any sort of employee representation.

There are no national figures on the proportion of workplaces with local union groups, known as clubs. However, some individual unions publish data. For example, Unionen, Sweden’s largest union, which organises around 625,000 non-manual workers in the private sector, reported that at the end of 2024, there were 2,540 union clubs (fackliga klubbar) and 2,900 union representatives (arbetsplatsombud) in Unionen. 39 In 2024, IF Metall, the biggest private sector manual union, with around 240,000 employed members in 13,200 workplaces had 1,192 clubs and union representatives at 3,212 workplaces. 40

Not all unions present information on local union organisations in this way. However, a 2025 study on unions by Andres Kjellberg, who has followed union developments over many years, concluded that “the trend is that the union's coverage rate and the proportion of union representatives have decreased for a long time in Sweden, but in some unions an upward trend is taking place”. 41

The role of unions

As already stated, unions are central to employee representation at the workplace in Sweden. This is recognised by the state, which cements union representation through three separate pieces of legislation, the MBL, the FML and the AML (see The basic structure).

If there is no union at the workplace, there will, almost certainly, be no employee representation at all.

Numbers and composition

There are no rules about the numbers of union representatives who must be appointed in a workplace, and there is no employment threshold above which a workplace requires a union representative. The only link to employee numbers, other than that for employee representatives at board level (see Board-level representation), is in the Work Environment Act, which states that one or more safety (work environment) representatives must be appointed in a workplace “where at least five employees are regularly employed” and that a safety committee should be set up when there are at least 50 regular employees (AML Chapter 6, Sections 2 and 8) (see Health and safety representation).

However, effectively there are some limits on the numbers, as the Act on the position of trade union representatives in the workplace (1974: 358) (Lag (1974:358) om facklig förtroendemans ställning på arbetsplatsen), states that leave for union tasks “may not be greater than is reasonable with regard to the conditions in the workplace” (FML Section 6A). 42

The legislation similarly provides no guidance on how trade union representation at the workplace should be organised. This is left to individual unions, whose rules differ, as these examples indicate.

Unionen, the largest union in Sweden, states in its rules that “clubs [groups of union members in the same workplace] and workplace representatives are the union's bodies in the workplaces”, and a club can be formed if there are at least five Unionen members at the workplace and they agree to its formation at a meeting. If there is no club, members can appoint representatives. 43

Kommunal, the largest union in the LO manual workers’ confederation, has a potentially more flexible structure of workplace organisation, with members able to organise in clubs, negotiating groups or other groupings. The precise form is decided in consultation between the members involved and the leadership of the section, covering a larger workplace or employer.

The workplace organisation structure in IF Metall, the largest union for manual workers in the private sector, is similar to that in Unionen, with clubs in larger workplaces and individual representatives in smaller ones.

The fact that employers are covered by separate agreements for different sections of their employees – manual, non-manual, graduate staff and management – means that in a single workplace several unions will have the right to appoint workplace representatives. On some issues, the employer must negotiate with them separately, but unions will often come together for issues which affect them all.

Tasks and rights

Trade union representatives at workplace have a wide range of tasks. As representatives of the union, they pass on information about what the union is doing, tell members how they can influence union decisions and try to recruit new members. They also have a key role on behalf of their fellow workers, dealing with the employer (see below), and letting the union know what members want.

If they have a right under the union’s rules to negotiate individually, they will negotiate a range of issues with the employer, and, if this is not the case, it is likely that they will be part of the union club at the workplace that will negotiate with the employer. (While individual union representatives have the right to negotiate in Unionen and Kommunal, this is not the case for IF Metall, where, if there is no club, all local negotiating tasks, including those relating to operational changes, are taken on by the higher levels of the union. 44)

Trade union rights at the workplace vary, depending on whether the union concerned has signed a collective agreement with the employer. This section initially sets out the normal situation, where the employer is covered by a collective agreement with the union concerned – normally through an industry-level agreement with the employers’ association to which the employer belongs. The much more limited rights available to a union which does not have an agreement covering the employer are set out at the end of this section. The main statutory basis for both sets of rights is the Co-determination in Working Life Act 1976 – the MBL.

For unions with a collective agreement with the employer, negotiations in the workplace are normally divided into three main blocks: 45

• dispute negotiations – where the aim is to reach an agreement or consensus on how agreements or legal rules that have already been reached are to be interpreted and applied (Section 10 MBL);
• negotiations of interest – where the two sides seek to reach an agreement on a local issue which has not previously been agreed (Section 10 MBL); and
• co-determination negotiations – where the union is seeking to influence the employers’ decisions (Sections 11 and 12 of the MBL).

Dispute negotiations cover issues where either the union or the employer feels that the law or the collective agreement has been breached. Examples from the union can include unfair dismissals, failure to follow redundancy procedures, failure to pay agreed wages, employing temporary workers in breach of collective agreements and incorrect holiday entitlement. Employer may raise issues relating to employees’ behaviour. These negotiations are subject to specific time limits (Section 16 MBL); the parties must provide copies of the documents referred to in the negotiations (Section 18); and, as in other negotiations, the parties must appear at the negotiations and “put forward a reasoned proposal for a solution of the matter to which the negotiations relate” (Section 15).

Under the Swedish system, many issues which, in other countries, would move immediately to the labour courts or some other part of the court system, are dealt with through negotiations between the employer and the union. These negotiations take place initially at local level, although often with support from regional union officials. However, if local negotiations are unsuccessful the issue can be passed up the chain to the national level, and it is normally only if these national negotiations fail that the issue goes to the Labour Court (Arbetsdomstolen).

Negotiations of interest fall into two main categories. The first concerns the elements of the national collective agreement left for local resolution. Most national negotiations provide for some aspects of how the pay increase is to be distributed to be decided through local negotiations (see section on collective bargaining, although, particularly in the public sector, union paid officials may also be involved in these local deals. The second category of negotiations of interest relates to issues like the level of IT support, the procedure for dealing with violence from clients and skills development, where agreement may be possible. These are areas where both sides will see the benefit of an agreement, as the unions’ possibility of bringing pressure to bear on the employer is limited because of the obligation to maintain industrial peace while the industry-level collective agreement is in force. In negotiations of interest there is no recourse to the courts.

Co-determination negotiations are intended to allow unions to influence the employer’s decisions and activities. These are the issues which in many other countries are covered by the works councils’ right to be informed and consulted.

Section 11 of the MBL requires the employer to take the initiative and open negotiations with the union before taking any decisions relating to "significant changes” in the employer’s “activities" and before "significant changes in working or employment conditions for employees" who belong to the union. Only where there is an “extraordinary cause” can the employer take and implement a decision before negotiations.

Judgements by the labour court have defined these “significant changes” as including:

• changes in work organisation and methods;
• personnel changes including changes in supervisors;
• the preparation of the annual budget;
• structural changes; and
• alterations in the patterns of recruitment or dismissal.

The employer must also negotiate with the union on issues, which do not involve significant changes, but where the union asks for negotiations, provided the employer’s decisions concern a member of the union (Section 12). Again, the employer cannot take or implement the decision before fulfilling the duty to negotiate (other than in special circumstances).

Negotiations first take place at local level (Section 14) but if agreement cannot be reached the unions have the right to ask for negotiations at national level.

Under the information requirements of the MBL, the employer is obliged to keep the union informed of its general economic situation, production levels and personnel policy. The union should also be given an “opportunity to examine books, accounts, and other documents that concern the employers' business, to the extent required by the union in order to protect the common interests of its members in relation to the employer”. Provided it is reasonable to do so, the employer should provide the unions with copies of the documents they request and help with their examination (Section 19). The information should be provided to the local union in the first instance (Section 20). There are also specific information obligations when employers are planning to dismiss employees because of a lack of work. These include: the reasons for the dismissals, the number and type of employees affected; the number and type of workers normally employed; the period over which the dismissals are planned; and the amount and basis of any compensation to be paid (Section 15).

As well as these statutory obligations, the MBL also provides that a union with a collective agreement on pay and conditions should also be able to request a collective agreement on co-determination “in matters regarding the conclusion and termination of contracts of employment, the management and distribution of work and the operation of the activity in general” (Section 32). This can even go as far agreeing that “decisions that would otherwise be taken by the employer shall be taken by employee representatives or by a joint body specifically constituted for such purpose” (Section 32). However, there are no sanction on employers who refuse to enter into such agreements.

Several agreements on co-determination were reached in the 1980s, most notably the 1982 agreement on efficiency and participation, known in Swedish as the Utvecklingsavtalet (UVA). This was a framework agreement reached between the main Swedish private sector employers’ organisation, on one side, and the LO manual workers confederation and the PTK, the private sector bargaining group of non-manual unions on the other. It was subsequently incorporated into a range of industry level agreements, which remain in force.

The UVA provided further suggestions on the type of information that could be provided to the unions and made it clear that the aim of the agreement was both to secure that the businesses remained efficient, profitable and competitive and to provide security, employment and development at work for employees. The industry-level agreements that have been based on the UVA set out how employees' knowledge can be used in relation to the business's finances, the introduction of new technology and work organisation. They also provide union members with five hours’ paid time-off a year to participate in union meetings

The UVA also included the possibility that, in line with Section 32 of the MBL joint union-employer bodies could be set up to take decisions which would otherwise be taken by the employer alone. However, there is no evidence that joint decision-making bodies of this type have been established.

Instead, unions have relied on the more limited rights they have under Sections 11 and 12 of the MBL. These require the employer to open negotiating with the union before making changes, but they do not prevent those changes being made. As the guidance from Sweden’s largest union, Unionen, makes clear, the final decision is taken by the employer: “When the negotiation has been completed, the employer has fulfilled the obligation to negotiate, and if the parties do not agree in the negotiation, the employer decides”. 46

There is, however, one specific and very limited area where the union has a veto, and two others where it can delay the implementation of the employer’s plans until they have been judged lawful.

The union’s veto right is set out in Sections 38 to 40 of the MBL and relates to the use of sub-contractors. Employers are specifically required to negotiate with the union before a decision is made to hire someone not employed by the employer, unless the work is short-term and temporary, requires specialist skills or the use of sub-contractors has already been agreed by the union. Even where these exceptions apply, the union can still require that negotiations take place. Following the negotiations, the union can veto the appoint of the subcontractor if it believes this would violate the law or collective agreements or would “otherwise contravene generally accepted practices within the parties’ area of agreement”. However, Sweden’s public procurement legislation indicates that this right of veto relates to specific circumstances, such as where the sub-contractor is bankrupt or has not paid taxes. If the union exercises its veto incorrectly, the employer can claim against it for damages.

The union’s power to delay is set out in Sections 33 and 34 of the MBL, which state that in two specific circumstances, where there is a dispute between the union and the employer, the union’s interpretation should prevail until the issue has been decided, either through central negotiations or in the Labour Court. The two circumstances are the interpretation of collective agreements on co-determination, signed under Section 32 of the MBL, and, more importantly, a union member’s duty to perform work. This allows the union to say that a union member is not contractually obliged to carry out certain work, and its interpretation stands until either central negotiations or the Labour Court have overturned it. However, there are certain circumstances, such as safety work, where the employer can nevertheless insist that work be carried out, and if the union is found to be wrong in its interpretation of the employee’s contractual obligations it may be liable to pay damages to the employer.

The rights set out above refer to the situation when an employer is covered by a collective agreement with the union concerned. If the union does not have a collective agreement with the employer, its rights are more limited. In these circumstances the employer is obliged to negotiate with the union when the issue “specifically relates to the working or employment conditions of an employee who is a member” of the union concerned (Section 13 MBL) but is under no obligation to negotiate on changes in activities, as it is with a union with a collective agreement. Where the employer’s plans relate to redundances or business transfers, and the employer is not covered by any collective agreement, the employer is obliged to negotiated with all unions whose members might be affected.

Employers are also obliged to provide unions which whom they do not have a collective agreement, but who have members among their employees with information on how “operations are developing as regards production and financially and similarly on the guidelines for personnel policy” (Section 19a MBL). Employees may be appointed by the union to receive the information, and reasonable leave to receive the information should not be refused (Section 19b MBL). The rights under these sections were added to take account of the 2002 EU information and consultation directive (2002/14/EC) and they are less detailed than the comparable information rights of unions with a collective agreement with the employer (Section 19 MBL).

Unions without a collective agreement with the employer also do not have the right to negotiate an agreement on co-determination, the limited veto rights on sub-contracting or the right for their interpretation of the obligation to carry out work to have priority. These are all rights only enjoyed by unions with a collective agreement (see above).

Election and term of office

Workplace representation is provided through the trade unions, operating under their own rules, and there are no statutory regulations which lay down how trade union representatives should be chosen; it is for the unions to decide.

The FML, the 1974 legislation on trade union representatives at the workplace, states simply that the law “applies to a person who has been appointed by an employee organisation to represent the employees at a certain workplace as a trade union representative” (Section 1). The only requirement is that the employer should be informed by the union as to who has been chosen, and that the employee organisation is a union to which the employer is bound by a collective agreement.

There are important differences in how unions choose union representatives and their precise role, as these examples illustrate. 47

In Unionen, the largest union, the club board (klubbstyrelsen) is responsible for negotiations with the employer, and workplace representatives (arbetsplatsombud) are only appointed if there is no club. The club board is elected annually at a members’ meeting, while employee representatives are elected at a members’ meeting for a maximum of two years.

In Kommunal the workplace representatives are elected by the section board, the employer-level lay structure in the union, based on proposals from members in the workplace, although they can also be elected by the club board (a lower-level lay structure), if the section board chooses this approach. Their term of office is three years.

In IF Metall, the largest private sector manual union, the club is responsible for dealing with the employer, and its board is elected at the annual meeting for a period of two years, with half resigning every year. The club board also appoints workplace contact representatives (kontaktombud) after consultation with the membership concerned. Their term of office is a maximum of two years.

Protection against dismissal

Union representatives, like union members, are protected by the provisions on the right of association under the general legislation on co-determination, the MBL (Sections 7 to 9). These protect them against dismissal or other disciplinary measures relating to their union activities.

In addition, there is separate legislation proving protection to union representatives. This is the FML, the Act on the position of trade union representatives in the workplace (1974: 358) (Lag (1974:358) om facklig förtroendemans ställning på arbetsplatsen). 48

This covers someone “who has been appointed by an employee organisation [a union with a collective agreement covering the employer] to represent the employees in a certain workplace as a trade union representative” in dealings with the employer.

It states in Section 4 that union representatives may not be given “worsened working conditions or terms of employment” because of their union position, and that, when they relinquish their union position, they must be assured of the same, or equivalent terms, as if they had not held it.

If the working conditions or the terms of employment of the union representative are to be changed in a way that makes it more difficult to fulfil the functions of a union representative, the union must be informed at least two weeks in advance. The union must have the opportunity to consult with the employer within no more than a week (Section 5) The proposed change cannot be made unless this consultation has taken place.

In addition, union representatives must be given priority in redundancy selection if the union considers it “of special importance for the union’s activities in the workplace” that they remain (Section 8). If the union representative must be reassigned to remain in the workplace, this must happen, provided the individual concerned has sufficient qualifications for the work. Redundancy dismissals may be invalid if the union’s views are ignored.

In general, where there are disputes as to whether the law on protection of union representatives is being applied correctly, the union’s interpretation of the provisions continues to apply until the issue has been resolved, either through central negotiations or in the Labour Court (Section 9).

Time off and other resources

The legislation on trade union representatives, the FML, does not set down a fixed period of time off for trade union duties at work. It simply states that “leave” (time off) “required for trade union duties” (literally the “trade union mission”) should be provided but it may not be “greater than is reasonable with regard to the conditions at the workplace” (Section 6A FML), and that for leave relating to trade union activities at the representative’s own workplace” representatives should be paid (Section 7).

It is left to consultation between the employer and the local union organisation to determine “the scope and location of the leave”. But industry level agreements sometimes indicate what is regarded as “reasonable”. In the central government sector, for example, the national agreement provides for one union representative on full-time union duties for every 500 members in the local union. 49 However, none of the agreements signed by IF Metall, the largest private sector manual union, include maximum or minimum figures for paid time for union activities. In its guidance booklet the union suggests that the following are some of the important factors in determining the amount of time to be provided for union duties: “the number of employees, the nature of the workplace, the composition of the workforce, staff turnover, employment conditions, working hours, types of wages, payment systems, special problems and the contractual situation”. 50 Time off will normally include going to outside meetings and on courses (see below) provided these are linked with the workplace.

The union representative either as an individual or as part of the trade union committee is entitled by law to use of a room or other space for union duties carried out there (Section 3 FML). Local agreements may extend these rights to the use of various items of office equipment – telephone, fax, computer, photocopier etc – and in some cases provide for secretarial support. The question of exactly what facilities the union representatives should have is normally one of the first issues to be negotiated between the union and the employer.

The 1982 agreement on efficiency and participation also provided for the trade union representatives to make use of external consultants, paid for by the employer, where major changes are in prospect. Typically, the employer will pay for a consultant for a week.

Training rights

The legislation on trade union representatives, the FML, does not contain specific provisions on training. However, it provides a right to paid time off for union duties, which must be “reasonable taking into account the conditions at the workplace” Sections 6 and 7), and it has been accepted that this covers a right to participate in trade union education.

Unions provide both basic and follow-on courses for workplace representatives.

In addition, under separate legislation, the 1974 Student Leave Act (Studieledighetslagen), all employees have the right to (unpaid) study leave, to take part in an organised course if they have been employed by the same employer for at least six months or at least 12 months in the previous two years. If the leave is for study which “to a significant extent relates to trade union or union-related issues”, this qualification period does not apply (Section 3).

Representation at group level

The 1982 agreement on efficiency and participation, known in Swedish as the Utvecklingsavtalet (UVA), states that information on the whole group should be given to union representatives in the companies within it and where decisions are planned which have an impact on several group companies the unions "should appoint a group of representatives with power to discuss and negotiate with group management".

In practice, the fact that employee representation takes place entirely through the unions means that they can set up their own structures for groups of companies, with a union club at group level (koncernklubb). In the finance union, Finansförbundet, for example, the position of group club member is part of the union’s structure. 51 Under Section 3 of the FML, union representatives must be given access to workplaces other than their own, if this is necessary for their union duties.

Employees have the right to be represented on the boards of companies with more than 25 employees. Where they are present, there are two or three employee members, and they typically account for a quarter to a third of board members. They are chosen by the union and are generally important figures in a whole range of employer-union relations.

The extent of board-level employee representation

Employee representation at board level is extensive in Sweden, which has a single-tier board system.

Under the 1987 Act on Board Representation for Private Sector Employees (Lag om styrelserepresentation för de privatanställda), 52 employees in almost all companies with more than 25 employees have the right to elect board members. The legislation applies to limited companies, banks, mortgage institutions, insurance companies, economic associations and some European cooperatives, and the calculation of employee numbers is based on the average number of employees in Sweden in the most recent financial year. Bodies outside the private sector, for example non-profit organisations, are not covered by this legislation, but in some cases these organisation's statutes, may provide for employee representation at board level.

However, the unions must ask for board-level representation before employee representatives are appointed (see Nomination and election of employee representatives), and this often does not happen. Figures from the Swedish corporate Governance Broad (Kollegiet för svensk bolagsstyrning), which are primarily collected to show the proportion of women at board level, indicate that only 92 of Sweden 356 listed companies have board level employee representation. 53 This is only around a quarter (25.8%) of the total.

In non-listed companies the proportion may be even lower. A 2020 publication from PTK, the main union grouping of non-manual unions in the private sector, noted that the proportion of employee representatives on company boards was declining and estimated that there was a shortage of around 50,000 employee representatives on company boards. 54

In private sector companies with at least 25 employees, the Act provides that, where the union asks for representation, there must be two employee representatives on the board of directors plus the same number of substitutes. In companies which operate across different industries and have at least 1,000 employees there are three employee representatives on the board, again with three substitutes. The employee representatives, however, can never be in the majority. For parent companies, the employment threshold figures relate to the whole group (Section 4).

The 2026 edition of the annual survey of non-employee board members carried out by the consultancy pwc found that, on average, the number of board members chosen by the shareholders ranged from 5.3 in smaller stock exchange companies to 7.0 in larger ones. 55 With either two or three board members chosen by the unions this suggests that, where they are present, employee representatives make up between a quarter and a third of board members, in companies quoted on the Swedish stock exchange.

Nomination and election of employee representatives

The decision to appoint employee representatives to the board is made by the local union, with which the employer has a collective agreement. If there is no union with a collective agreement with the company or the union does not choose to appoint representatives, there is no board-level employee representation (Section 6).

Once a decision has been made to appoint employee representatives to the board, they are chosen by the local unions (Section 7). They normally agree on how this should be done, with one employee representative and deputy coming from the manual confederation LO and the other coming from one of the two non-manual confederations, TCO and Saco, which, in the private sector work together in the PTK bargaining grouping. The PKT advises that where there are several non-manual unions in the company, they should cooperate to try to find a joint candidate, with mediation available, if they cannot agree. 56

If an agreement cannot be reached between LO and the PTK, the law provides that if one union has 80% of the employees in the company, then it is entitled to both the employee seats on the board, otherwise each of the two unions with the largest membership in the company has a seat. (The substitutes are divided in the same way.) If the employees are entitled to three members the larger union appoints two (and two substitutes), while the smaller union appoints one (and one substitute) (Section 8).

Substitute members are important as they may attend and speak at meetings of the board even though full members are also present (Section 13).

The individual members, whether full members or substitutes, must be employees of the company, or of a company in the group in the case of a parent company (Section 9). They can be chosen in a number of ways including election at a union meeting in the company, appointment by the board of the local union group (the club) or a membership ballot. The PTK advises that it is an advantage if the person appointed is a member of the club board, but that they should not be the club president, the most senior figure or the person who negotiates with the company. 57

Once the employees' members have been appointed, the local unions must submit a report to the company. This must contain the names of all members and substitutes, and the minutes of the meeting when they were appointed. The company then registers the new members with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.

Their term of office is fixed by the union making the appointment but may not exceed four years (Section 10).

The Swedish Corporate governance code states that listed companies are “to strive for gender balance on the board”. 58 The Swedish corporate Governance Board produces annual statistics on the proportion of women on company boards. The figures for 2026 show that 35.4% of the board members chosen by the annual general meeting (representing shareholders) are women, while women make up only 30.7% of board members chosen by employees. 59

The rights of employee representatives

In general, board members representing employees have the same rights as those representing the shareholders of the company (Section 11). These are set out in Chapter 8 of the Swedish Companies Act (Aktiebolagslag 2005). However, board members representing employees cannot be involved in dealing in issues linked to collective bargaining or industrial action, or other issues where there is a clear conflict of interest between the company and the union (Section 14).

Overall, employee representatives have no power of veto and so cannot stop majority decisions taken against their wishes.

There is also a difference in approach between the legislation on board representatives and involvement according to the MBL Co-determination Act (see Tasks and rights). Employee members on the board, like other board members, are required to act in the best interests of the company, while the negotiating rights provided through the MBL legislation are based on the differences between the parties’ interests. In addition, information rights under the Co-determination Act cannot be replaced by information an employee representative receives as a member of the board.

Board-level employee representatives and substitutes are covered by the 1974 Act on Trade Union Representatives, the FML. As such, they receive their normal pay for the work as a board member, and additional remuneration is exceptional. However, this also means that means that time for board work (preparation time, travel time, meeting time, induction and any training required) must be within paid working time (Sections 6A and 7 FML).

They also benefit from the protections against dismissal and detriment because of their duties as employee representatives (Sections 4A FML), the requirement for the union to be consulted before any changes in their working conditions (Section 5) and preferential treatment in relation to redundancies, if the union considers that their continued employment is of particular importance (Section 8) (see Protection against dismissal). As with other union representatives, where there are disputes as to whether the law on union representatives is being applied correctly, the union’s interpretation of the provisions continues to apply until the issue is resolved, either at a higher level between the unions and employers or in the Labour Court.

Swedish members of bodies linked to European Works Councils and the European Company are – in line with Swedish practice elsewhere – appointed by the local unions the company negotiates with.

European Works Councils

Swedish legislation on European Works Councils (Lag (2011:427) om europeiska företagsråd) 60 provides that Swedish members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for an EWC are appointed by the local union bodies with whom the company has collective agreements. If the unions cannot agree who should be appointed, then the union with the largest number of members makes the appointment. If there are several Swedish members, the procedure followed is like that for board level representation. This states that if one union has 80% of the employees in the company, then it is entitled to appoint all the members, otherwise each of the two unions with the largest membership in the company share the membership. If the company is not covered by a collective agreement, the union with the largest number of members in the company appoints the Swedish members. The legislation does not specify whether or not the individual should be an employee of the company.

The procedure is the same for Swedish members of an EWC set up under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive, except that the legislation states specifically that the individual or individuals appointed from Sweden must be employed by the company.

European Company

Swedish legislation on employee involvement in a European Company (Societas Europaea) (Lag (2004:559) om arbetstagarinflytande i europabolag) 61 is in many ways similar to that for European Works councils. It provides that Swedish members of the special negotiating body (SNB) for a European Company are appointed by the local union bodies with which the company has collective agreements. If the unions cannot agree who should be appointed, then the union with the largest number of members makes the appointment. If there are several Swedish members, the procedure followed is like that for board level representation. This states that if one union has 80% of the employees in the company, then it is entitled to appoint all the members, otherwise each of the two unions with the largest membership in the company share the membership. If the company is not covered by a collective agreement, the union with the largest number of members in the company appoints the Swedish members. The legislation does not specify whether or not the individual should be an employee of the company.

The procedure is the same for Swedish members of the SE Representative body (known in the Swedish legislation as an employees’ council) set up under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive, except that the legislation states specifically that the individual or individuals appointed from Sweden must be employed by the company.

The same arrangements as for the employees’ council also apply to Swedish employee representatives at board level, where they are appointed under the fallback procedure in the annex to the directive. The one difference is that the unions may, if they wish, transfer the choice of the board level representatives to the employees’ council (see above).

The legislation makes it clear that, as in domestic Swedish companies (see The rights of employee representatives, employee representatives in Swedish European Companies set up under the fallback procedure, should not participate in discussions relating to collective agreements or industrial action, or other issues where the unions’ interests may conflict with those of the company.

Safety representatives, who are normally appointed by the union, should be present in all workplaces with at least five employees in Sweden. They have the power to halt work if there is an immediate and serious threat to health. A joint safety committee should be set up in larger workplaces, and the Swedish system also provides a network of regional safety representatives, usually union officials, who can intervene where there is no safety committee.

Employee health and safety bodies

Health and safety representation in Sweden is provided through safety representatives (working environment representatives) (skyddsombud (arbetsmiljöombud)), and in larger companies (50 or more employees) or where the employees request this, there is also a safety committee (skyddskommitté). Unions can also appoint a regional safety representative (regionalt skyddsombud) to cover smaller workplaces without a safety committee, where they have members.

Numbers and structure

All workplaces with five or more employees are required to appoint at least one safety representative, with the union normally making the appointment (see below). Safety representatives can also be appointed at smaller workplaces if working conditions make this appropriate. Each safety representative should also have a deputy.

There are no set rules about how many safety representatives should be appointed. However, the Work Environment Ordinance indicates that the size of the workplace, the nature of the work and the working conditions should be taken into account. In addition, if work is split over several departments or done in shifts, each department and or shift should have a safety representative. Where there are doubts about the appropriate number, the issue should be discussed with the employer and, if necessary, the health and safety authorities. It is also possible to have safety representatives from several unions, if several have agreements covering the workplace.

Where, for whatever reason, there are several safety representatives, one of them should be chosen as the senior safety representative to coordinate the work of the others.

A safety committee should be set up in all workplaces with at least 50 employees and in smaller workplaces if the employees request this. Its size depends on the size of the workplace and the type of work undertaken. The employee members of the committee are appointed in the same way as safety representatives (see below) and they must include at least one safety representative. The safety committee should, if possible, also include at least one person in a management role and a member of the local executive committee of the union. The chair and secretary are normally appointed by management.

Regional safety representatives cover smaller workplaces without a safety committee, and their area of responsibility is decided by the union body that appoints them, although they can only cover workplaces that have at least one of their members as employees. They exist alongside workplace-based safety representatives, and a small workplace might well have a safety representative who is an employee as well as being covered by a regional safety representative.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in 2019 found that 72% of workplaces in Sweden had health and safety representatives and 37% had a health and safety committee. These are both well above the EU-27 averages, which were 56% for health and safety representatives and 22% for health and safety committees. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.) 62

Figures collected in Eurofound’s European Working Conditions Survey 2024 indicate that that 80% of employees in Sweden report having an occupational health and safety delegate at the workplace. This percentage is well above the EU average of 60%. 63

Despite these high percentages there are some indications of the less positive situation. The government ceased collecting statistics on the number of safety reps in 2008, but the latest figures from the unions suggest that there were 95,977 in 2023 and that the figure has fallen since 2012, even though the number of employees has increased. 64

Tasks and rights

The role of the safety representative is to represent employees on health and safety issues and to work for a satisfactory working environment. In the area he or she covers, the safety representative should monitor the safeguards against ill-health and accidents, as well as the employer’s compliance with legislative requirements relating to:

• managing activity so as to meet the requirements of a good working environment;
• investigating injuries at work;
• continuously assessing risks and taking the appropriate measures to deal with them;
• documenting the health and safety position and improvement measures, including drawing up actions; and
• ensuring that the workplace provides a scheme of job adaptation and rehabilitation.

The safety representative should also participate in the planning of new premises, equipment, work processes, working methods and work organisation or alterations to existing ones, and in planning the use of substances liable to cause ill-health or accidents. He or she should also be involved in the preparation of improvement action plans (see above).

The employer should inform the safety representative of any changes having a significant effect on working conditions. The safety representative is also entitled to inspect all documents and to obtain any other information necessary for his or her activities. This includes information on buildings, hazardous substances and communications from the safety authorities to the employer.

If the safety representative believes that specific measures need to be taken produce a safe working environment, he or she can ask the employer to carry out these measures or to undertake a particular investigation. If the employer fails to respond or does not do so with a reasonable time, the health and safety authority can examine the situation to see whether it should issue and instruction. Where there is a safety committee, the request may be made to it rather than the employer.

If a particular job involves immediate and serious danger to the life or health of an employee and the employer does not take any action to remedy the situation, the safety representative may order the suspension of work pending a decision by the health and safety authority. This suspension remains in force until the authority has reached a decision. This right to suspend work applies to each safety representative, so it is possible for a regional safety representative to order a suspension of work, even if the local safety representative disagrees. This would not be possible in larger workplaces as the regional safety representative only has a role if there is no safety committee.

The role of the safety committee is to participate in the planning of health and safety measures at the worksite and monitor their implementation. It should closely monitor developments relating to protection against ill-health and accidents and should promote satisfactory health and safety conditions.

In particular the safety committee should consider issues relating to:

• occupational health services;
• action plans relating to measure to improve health and safety (see above);
• the planning of new or changed facilities, equipment, work processes and working methods and of work organisation;
• planning of the use of substances liable to cause ill-health or accident;
• information and education concerning the working environment; and
• job adaptation and rehabilitation activities at the workplace.

Where employees and the employer on the safety committee cannot agree, the issue can be referred to the health and safety authority, to see whether this is an issue on which the authority can make a decision.

Frequency of meetings

The safety committee should meet at least once every three months.

Election and term of office

Safety representatives are appointed in the first instance by the local trade union organisation which has a collective agreement with the employer. The individual appointed must be an employee at the workplace but does not have to be a member of the union, although he or she generally is a union member. If there are several unions with collective agreements covering the workplace, they decide whether to have a common representative or whether to have one – or more than one – each.

Where there is no union with a collective agreement, the employees elect their own safety representative, normally at a meeting but sometimes in other ways. The election must be conducted by the employees themselves.

Safety representatives are appointed for a period of three years unless exceptional circumstances make a different period appropriate.

The employee members of the safety committee are also appointed by the unions with collective agreements covering the workplace in the first instance. Only if there are no unions with collective agreements covering the workplace are they directly chosen by the employees.

Regional safety representatives are chosen by the local organisation of the union, and they do not have to be employees at the workplace – in fact they are generally full-time union officials. They can only be appointed in respect of workplaces where the union concerned has members.

Resources, time off and training

Safety representatives are entitled to the time off with pay necessary to perform their duties. However, the legislation does not specify how long this should be and the issue will normally be decided in an agreement between the union and the employer. Safety representatives should also be given training.

Protection against dismissal

Safety representatives must not be given inferior conditions or pay because of their appointment and, like trade union representatives, benefit from some priority of treatment when redundancies are being made.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

Health and safety legislation emphasises the employer’s duty to provide a safe and healthy working environment, stating in the Work Environment Act that, “the employer must take all necessary measures to prevent the employee from being exposed to illness or accidents”. However, in general there are no specific employment or other thresholds determining the how health and safety tasks should be performed, although there are more specific requirements relating to construction and civil engineering.

The legislation also states that the employer must ensure the availability of “occupational health services required by the working conditions”, and defines occupational health services as being “an independent expert resource in the work environment and rehabilitation fields”.

National context

The ministry responsible for health and safety at work is the Ministry of Employment (Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet). The body primarily responsible health and safety is the Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket), which also monitors compliance with health and safety laws and regulations.

There is no statutory structure giving trade unions and employers a direct role in policymaking on health and safety. However, they are consulted by the Work Environment Authority, and the regulations governing the operations of the Authority state specifically that it “shall consult representative employers’ and workers' organisations” before deciding on new regulations or taking important administrative decisions. 65

For more information on the national context see OSH system at national level – Sweden by Riitta Sauni, Kirsi Koskela and Peter Westerholm,, OSH Wiki https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/OSH_system_at_national_level_-_Sweden

Key legislation

Work Environment Act 1977, as amended

The Work Environment Ordinance

Arbetsmiljölagen

Arbetsmiljöförordningen

• 1

  For a detailed study of the position of Swedish unions see Trade unions in Sweden: still high union density, but widening gaps by social category and national origin by Anders Kjellberg, in Trade Unions in the European Union, edited by Jeremy Waddington, Torsten Müller and Kurt Vandaele, Peter Lang, 2023 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Chapter28_Sweden_still%20high%20union%20density%2C%20but%20widening%20gaps%20by%20social%20category%20and%20national%20origin_2023.pdf

• 2

  Den svenska modellen 2025 Medlemmar, förtroendevalda och organisationsgrad, Chart 1 by Anders Kjellberg,Lund University, 2025 https://lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfiles/portal/219994396/Arena_Ide_-_Kjellberg_2025.pdf

• 3

  OECD and AIAS, Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) database, OECD, 2025 https://webfs.oecd.org/Els-com/ICTWSS-Database/OECD-AIAS-ICTWSS-v2.0.xlsx

• 4

  Figures from union websites https://www.lo.se/i-facket/facket-a-o/medlemsantal-lo-forbunden-aren-2011-2024#Medlemsantal-2025

  https://tco.se/fakta-och-politik/fortsatt-okning-av-tco-medlemmar-under-2025

  https://www.saco.se/om-saco/sacos-organisation/federationen-och-forbunden/medlemsstatistik/

• 5

  Ledarnas Årsredovisning 2025, page 15, Ledarna 2026 https://www.ledarna.se/om-ledarna/nyheter/nyheter/las-om-ledarnas-verksamhetsar-2025/

• 6

  Saco website https://www.saco.se/om-saco/sacos-organisation/federationen-och-forbunden/medlemsstatistik/

• 7

  Total membership figures from union websites https://www.lo.se/i-facket/facket-a-o/medlemsantal-lo-forbunden-aren-2011-2024#Medlemsantal-2024 and https://tco.se/fakta-och-politik/tco-forbunden-vaxte-i-medlemmar-under-2024; active membership figures from Kollektivavtalstäckning och arbetsmarknadens organisationer 2024, pages 29-31, Medlingsinstitutet, 2025 https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/Kollektivavtalstackning-och-arbetsmarknadens-organisationer-2024.pdf

• 8

  Medlemsantal LO-förbunden åren 2011-2024, LO https://www.lo.se/i-facket/facket-a-o/medlemsantal-lo-forbunden-aren-2011-2024#Medlemsantal-2025

• 9

  Antal medlemmar i svenska fackförbund, Fackförbund.nu, 23.03.2026 https://xn--fackfrbund-icb.nu/tips-och-artiklar/ovriga-artiklar/medlemmar-i-svenska-fackforbund/

• 10

  Lararnas historia, Sveriges Lärare https://lararnashistoria.se/lararorganisationerna/den-lararfackliga-historien/

• 11

  Figures for total membership form Saco website https://www.saco.se/om-saco/medlemsstatistik/

• 12

  Majoritet av LO-förbunden negativa till las-avtal, Arbetaren, 9 December 2020 https://www.arbetaren.se/2020/12/09/majoritet-av-lo-forbunden-negativa-till-las-avtal/

• 13

  Partisympati- undersökningen maj 2025, Tabell 16, SCB, 2025 https://www.scb.se/contentassets/56a0249f03714628af6d7d84d0c2c56c/me0201_2025m05_br_me60br2501.pdf

• 14

  The Constitution of Sweden https://www.government.se/contentassets/7b69df55e58147638f19bfdfb0984f97/the-constitution-of-sweden/

• 15

  Den svenska modellen 2025 Medlemmar, förtroendevalda och organisationsgrad, Chart 1 and Table 20 by Anders Kjellberg,Lund University, 2025 https://lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfiles/portal/219994396/Arena_Ide_-_Kjellberg_2025.pdf

• 16

  Den svenska modellen 2025 Medlemmar, förtroendevalda och organisationsgrad, Tables 4 and 20 by Anders Kjellberg,Lund University, 2025 https://lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfiles/portal/219994396/Arena_Ide_-_Kjellberg_2025.pdf

• 17

  For a detailed examination of collective bargaining in Sweden see Sweden: collective bargaining under the industry norm by Anders Kjellberg in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019

• 18

  Den svenska modellen 2025 Medlemmar, förtroendevalda och organisationsgrad, Tables 35 by Anders Kjellberg,Lund University, 2025 https://lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfiles/portal/219994396/Arena_Ide_-_Kjellberg_2025.pdf

• 19

  Den svenska modellen i en oviss tid: Fack, arbetsgivare och kollektivavtal på en föränderlig arbetsmarknad by Anders Kjellberg,Lund University, 2020 Charts 14 and 15 https://portal.research.lu.se/portal/en/publications/den-svenska-modellen-i-en-oviss-tid(11ad3d7f-b363-4e46-834f-cae7013939dc).html (Accessed 17.12.2020)

• 20

  OECD/AIAS ICTWSS collective bargaining coverage, OECD, 2025 https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecdaias-ictwss-database.html

• 21

  Avtalsrörelsen och lönebildningen 2025: Medlingsinstitutets årsrapport, page 75 Medlingsinstitutet, 2026 https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/avtalsrorelsen-och-lonebildningen-2025.pdf

• 22

  Ibid page 23

• 23

  ”Märket” och Industriavtalet, Medlingsintitutet https://www.mi.se/forhandling-avtal/market-och-industriavtalet/

• 24

  6F utmanar industrifacken om märket, Flamman,18.04.2018 https://www.flamman.se/6f-utmanar-industrifacken-om-market/ and Kommunal: Märket är en tvångströja, Dagens industri, 06.12.2017https://www.di.se/nyheter/kommunal-market-ar-en-tvangstroja/

• 25

  Avtalsrörelsen och lönebildningen 2025: Medlingsinstitutets årsrapport, page 33 Medlingsinstitutet, 2026 https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/avtalsrorelsen-och-lonebildningen-2025.pdf

• 26

  Ibid, page 33

• 27

  Ibid page 32

• 28

  Avtalsrörelsen och lönebildningen 2025: Medlingsinstitutets årsrapport, page 54 Medlingsinstitutet, 2026 https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/avtalsrorelsen-och-lonebildningen-2025.pdf

• 29

  Kollektivavtal – Vilka tecknar avtalen ochhur är löneavtalen konstruerade? Medlingsintitutet, 2023 https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/Kollektivavtal-vilka-tecknar-avtalen-och-hur-ar-loneavtalen-konstruerade.pdf

• 30

  Avtalsrörelsen och lönebildningen 2025: Medlingsinstitutets årsrapport, page 34 Medlingsinstitutet, 2026 https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/avtalsrorelsen-och-lonebildningen-2025.pdf

• 31

  Kollektivavtalstäckning och arbetsmarknadens organisationer 2024, page 28 Medlingsinstitutet, 2025 (figures supplied by Medlingsinstitutet https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/Kollektivavtalstackning-och-arbetsmarknadens-organisationer-2024.pdf

• 32

  Sweden: collective bargaining under the industry norm by Anders Kjellberg in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019

• 33

  Avtalsrörelsen och lönebildningen 2025: Medlingsinstitutets årsrapport, page 34 Medlingsinstitutet, 2026 https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/avtalsrorelsen-och-lonebildningen-2025.pdf

• 34

  Instrument of government 1974 https://www.riksdagen.se/globalassets/05.-sa-fungerar-riksdagen/demokrati/the-instrument-of-government-2023-eng.pdf

• 35

  https://www.government.se/contentassets/bea67b6c1de2488cb454f9acd4064961/sfs-1976_580-employment-co-determination-in-the-workplace-act-sfs-2021_1114.pdf

• 36

  Avtalsrörelsen och lönebildningen 2025: Medlingsinstitutets årsrapport, page 20 Medlingsinstitutet, 2026 https://www.mi.se/app/uploads/avtalsrorelsen-och-lonebildningen-2025.pdf and Avtalsrörelsen och lönebildningen 2024: Medlingsinstitutets årsrapport, page 29 https://www.mi.se/publikationer/arsrapport-for-2024/

• 37

  Co-determination in Working Life Act (MBL) https://www.government.se/contentassets/bea67b6c1de2488cb454f9acd4064961/sfs-1976_580-employment-co-determination-in-the-workplace-act-sfs-2021_1114.pdf Position of Trade Union Representatives in the Workplace Act (FML) https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/lag-1974358-om-facklig-fortroendemans-stallning_sfs-1974-358/ Work Environment Act (AML) https://www.av.se/globalassets/filer/arbetsmiljoarbete-och-inspektioner/lagar-och-andra-regler/arbetsmiljolagen-bok-h008.pdf

• 38

  European Working Conditions Survey 2024: Overview report, Figure 43, Eurofound 2026 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/european-working-conditions-survey-2024-overview-report

• 39

  Årsrapport Unionen: 2024 https://www.unionen.se/sites/default/files/files/Arsrapport_2024.pdf

• 40

  Kort om IF Metall Medlemsstatistik, IF Metall January 2025 https://www.ifmetall.se/globalassets/avdelningar/bohuslan-dal/resurser/dokument/ny-medlem/kort-om-if-metall.pdf

• 41

  Den svenska modellen 2025: Medlemmar, förtroendevalda och organisationsgrad, by Anders Kjellberg, Lund University,2025 https://lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfiles/portal/219994396/Arena_Ide_-_Kjellberg_2025.pdf

• 42

  https://lagen.nu/1974:358

• 43

  Unionen Stadgar 2023, Section 3.1, 3.2,3.3 and 3.6 https://www.unionen.se/sites/default/files/files/3292-1_Unionen_Stadgar_2023_WEBB_0.pdf

• 44

  IF Metall Stadgar 2025-28, Section 26 https://www.ifmetall.se/globalassets/avdelningar/forbundskontoret/resurser/dokument/stadgar/stadgar-2025-2028.pdf

• 45

  See, for example, UNIONEN website https://www.unionen.se/rad-och-stod/om-forhandling and Förhandla lokalt, page 11, IF Metall, 2023 https://www.ifmetall.se/globalassets/avdelningar/boras/resurser/dokument/fortroendevald/forhandla_lokalt_2023-webb.pdf

• 46

  Unionen website https://www.unionen.se/rad-och-stod/medbestammandeforhandling-sa-har-gor-du

• 47

  Statutes of Unionen, 3.2, 3.5 and 3.6; Kommunal 5.1; and IF Metall 23.2, 23.5 and 23.6

• 48

  https://lagen.nu/1974:358

• 49

  Facklig förtroendeman, Arbetsgivarverket https://www.arbetsgivarverket.se/arbetsgivarguiden/facklig-fortroendeman

• 50

  Förhandla lokalt, (page 7) IF Metall, https://www.ifmetall.se/globalassets/avdelningar/boras/resurser/dokument/fortroendevald/forhandla_lokalt_2023-webb.pdf

• 51

  See Finansförbundet website https://www.finansforbundet.se/medlemskap/sa-har-kan-du-paverka/att-arbeta-fackligt/

• 52

  https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/lag-19871245-om-styrelserepresentation-for-de_sfs-1987-1245/

• 53

  Kollegiet redovisar könsfördelningen i börsbolagsstyrelser June 2026, https://www.bolagsstyrning.se/Userfiles/Publikationer/Undersokningar/Statistik_konsfordelning_i_bolagsstyrelser_2026.pdf

• 54

  Ta plats en bok om inflytande i bolagsstyrelser. PTK, 2020 https://www.ptk.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PTK-bok-2020-Ta-plats-en-bok-om-inflytande-i-bolagsstyrelser.pdf

• 55

  Svenska styrelsers ersättningar och arbetssätt, January 2026 pwc https://www.pwc.se/sv/styrelse/svenska-styrelsers-ersattningar-och-arbetssatt-2026-final.pdf

• 56

  Company board member A handbook for employee representatives on Swedish company boards, Section 2, PTK, https://www.ptk.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PTK-Skrift-2019-Company-board-member.pdf

• 57

  ibid

• 58

  Swedish Corporate Governance Code from 2024, https://bolagsstyrning.se/Userfiles/Koden/Dokument/SweCorpGovernanceCode_applicable_from_1_January_2024.pdf

• 59

  Könsfördelning i börsbolagsstyrelser, June 2026 https://bolagsstyrning.se/Userfiles/Publikationer/Undersokningar/Statistik_konsfordelning_i_bolagsstyrelser_2026.pdf

• 60

  https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/lag-2011427-om-europeiska-foretagsrad_sfs-2011-427/

• 61

  https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/lag-2004559-om-arbetstagarinflytande-i_sfs-2004-559/

• 62

  Third European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER 2019): Overview Report How European workplaces manage safety and health, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/esener-2019-overview-report-how-european-workplaces-manage-safety-and-health

• 63

  European Working Conditions Survey 2024: Overview report, Figure 41, Eurofound 2026 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/all/european-working-conditions-survey-2024-overview-report

• 64

  https://www.av.se/globalassets/filer/publikationer/rapporter/aterrapportering-regeringsuppdrag-skyddsombud-tillganglig.pdf

• 65

  Förordning (2007:913) med instruktion för Arbetsmiljöverket