Industribasen on the new bill: “The government does not understand how the business world works”

LABOR IMMIGRATION

The government wants to limit labor immigration, regardless of the reasons put forward by the business community, notes Industriarbetsgivarnas CEO Per Hidesten. He warns of serious consequences if the companies cannot hire experts from third countries. “The companies must test the workforce, not the politicians,” he says to TN.

Last autumn, the government introduced a wage floor for labor immigration of 80 percent of the Swedish median wage. Already now, the proposal is to raise that salary floor to 100 percent. This causes Industriabetsgivarnas CEO Per Hidesten to react strongly.

– Just like the first wage floor, this new proposal is of course bad, he says and continues:

– The lack of competence that we have in Sweden will not be solved by the people who are in Sweden, but something else has to be done. And in that equation, we can see that labor immigration is critically decisive for us to succeed in achieving a balance in the supply of skills.

He believes, like many others, that labor immigration is absolutely necessary for Sweden to cope with the green transition and the industrial boom that is underway not least in the north.

– Therefore, we need to be able to employ both professionals and experts from third countries.

“The need exists now, not later.”

The government’s main argument for raising the wage floor to 100 percent of the median wage is that only highly qualified labor should be allowed to come to Sweden. But recently TN was able to reveal that 51 percent of those who are affected when the floor is raised are graduates and another 26 percent are highly educated professionals – that is, exactly the type of workforce that the government says should be able to come to Sweden.

– It is clear that the government wants to limit labor immigration regardless of the reasons we have put forward, says Per Hidesten.

– It is the opposite of what is done in many other countries, such as Finland and Germany. Labor immigration is facilitated there.

He emphasizes that the skills in demand are attractive in a global labor market.

– Then it is important that they think it is good to come here. Instead, the government puts up a lot of fences. But these are people who come here and work, pay taxes and create the prosperity that we want.

Threatens the investments in northern Sweden

The installation companies recently presented figures showing that ten percent of the distribution electricians who build out the Swedish electricity grid would have to go home if the new salary floor becomes a reality.

– This is very serious and risks having far-reaching consequences, said Installatörsföretagen’s business policy manager Andreas Åström to TN at the time.

Per Hidesten agrees.

– Everything is connected, he says.

What do you think would happen if the rate of expansion of the electricity grids were to slow down?

– Then we will not get increased electricity production and no increased electricity supply. Then the opportunities to invest in the new industry fail. If any part of the whole fails, then we will not succeed with the investments in northern Sweden.

Per Hidesten says that in the coming years, 300,000 new employees will be needed in Swedish industry. Although the figure in labor immigration is small, it is an important cog. The fact that companies are already starting to sound the alarm that they may leave Sweden if the new wage floor becomes a reality worries him.

– It is clear that it is negative for our competitiveness. I perceive it as the government not understanding how the business world works and what it looks like in a company.

Applies to payroll

Per Hidesten is one of those who are involved in negotiating the so-called mark, the wage standardization in Swedish collective agreements. The industrial agreement has meant that Swedish real wages have increased by approximately 60 percent since 1997. But now that model may be threatened by politicians choosing to get involved in wage formation.

– That is the first thing I am critical of. It is we in the labor market – unions and employers – who are responsible for setting wages. And now the politicians are getting involved.

– We are fundamentally against that, says Per Hidesten.

How does it affect the Swedish model when politicians get involved in wage formation?

– It creates uncertainty and a lack of trust. We cannot know whether the agreements we make apply.

He is deeply critical of the new concept of “good supply capacity”, which is part of the proposal that has now been presented, and believes that it is completely foreign to Swedish conditions.

– It is a completely new concept. And that is unfortunate, he says, emphasizing that it is collective agreements that must apply.

“Companies that have collective agreements must have the same conditions for all employees. It goes without saying.”

He believes that a wage floor means that there will be different conditions for different workers. The risk, according to Per Hidesten, is that the legislation becomes wage-driven – or that different laws are created at the companies, where labor immigrants receive higher wages, because the wage floor is not infrequently well above the minimum wage in the collective agreements. It creates an unreasonable situation for employers, he believes.

– The companies that have collective agreements must have the same conditions for all employees. It goes without saying, says Per Hidesten.

One of the government’s most important arguments when it comes to limiting labor immigration is that there are people in Sweden who can take the jobs. What do you answer to that?

– What “exists”? By then we had already recruited them, says Per Hidesten.

He emphasizes that even if training courses were to be started today to cover the skills shortage, it will take many years before the new skills reach the labor market.

– It is great that more people are getting an education. But the need is there now, not later. Mathematics and economics do not go together, says Per Hidesten.

– We are an export-dependent country and we must have an open economy. If we need competence, we must be able to use it regardless of where it comes from. And it is the companies that must test the workforce, not the politicians.