Trade union services
Nearly 70 percent of Swedish workers belong to a trade union. For these millions of members, trade unions provide special insurance policies, coaching and representation for contract negotiations and legal support.
In general, members rely on trade unions to uphold and improve their rights as workers. From considering a contract to losing a job and becoming unemployed, unions can strengthen your bargaining position throughout your career through their legal expertise and negotiation privileges.
Union organizations may help workers achieve fair and reasonable wages, ensure equal treatment, provide added pension and unemployment insurance and generally promote other social issues. The same rights also apply to those who are not members of a union. The Swedish labor market is built on a long heritage of negotioations between businesses, trade unions and the government, so all parties generally agree about the basic conditions. For many employers, offering employees good working conditions is also a competitive advantage.
About 1.7 million of the blue-collar workers in Sweden, those who perform work needing strength or physical skill rather than office work, belong to the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO). It is an umbrella organization for 14 Swedish trade organizations in both the public and private sectors.
There are also two large unions to which the majority of white-collar workers, office workers, in Sweden belong. The Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO) is the largest, with about 1.3 million members. It is also an umbrella organization, working at national and international levels on issues covering job satisfaction, development and opportunities, as well as other labor-related issues.
The Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (Saco) has approximately 600,000 union members who represent about two dozen independent groups, including economists, lawyers, architects, doctors, teachers and other professions that require a college or university degree.