Unraveling Sweden: The Link Between an '80s Finance Minister and the Nation's Work Permit Blueprints
Article: The History and Impact of Employee Funds in Sweden
In the 1970s, a controversial scheme known as employee funds, or löntagarfonder, was introduced in Sweden. The initiative, part of a labor-capital reconciliation policy, aimed to systematically transfer ownership of companies' profits to workers through collective funds, with the ultimate goal of increasing worker control and reducing private capitalist control of corporate capital.
The löntagarfonder were financed by taxing company profits and were controlled by unions. However, the scheme faced political opposition and was ultimately phased out by the early 1990s, following the Conservatives' victory in the 1991 election.
Fast forward to the present day, and the concept of employee funds bears no direct connection to the current work permit salary threshold plans in Sweden. The work permit salary thresholds regulate conditions for foreign labor immigration, ensuring minimum income levels for permit approval under immigration law, while the löntagarfonder focused on redistributing capital ownership within Swedish companies domestically.
Recent developments in work permit salary thresholds have sparked concerns among businesses, relocation experts, and the Migration Agency itself. This week, the Migration Agency published a list of 152 job titles that could be exempted from a higher salary threshold. If exemptions are needed for over a third of Swedish job titles, the higher salary threshold may prove unsuitable for many industries.
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[Sources] 1. JSTOR
Employee funds, originally a controversial scheme in Swedish politics during the 1970s, were financed by taxing company profits and controlled by unions. Contrastingly, current work permit salary thresholds in Sweden, a subject of recent debates among businesses, are implemented as regulations for foreign labor immigration, focusing on minimum income levels for permit approvals, and not related to the employee funds of the past.
