Here are the answers to the four questions we put to the top EU candidates on how they want to push for a more inclusive labour market.
Question 1 - What concrete and prioritised proposals do you and your party have in the EU to create conditions for increased diversity and an inclusive working life?
For the Centre Party, it is important that labour market issues are primarily handled by the social partners, who have both expertise and insight into the situation in each individual workplace. But this requires that the parties actively work for inclusion and diversity in both their management and membership, which the Centre Party negotiated in this resolution on social dialogue in the EU. We do not believe that politicians, either at EU level or at home in Sweden, should regulate the labour market in detail through, for example, quotas or wage floors. However, politicians should guarantee the equal value and rights of all people, for example by ensuring protection against discrimination. The Centre Party has worked actively on the issue of EU-wide standards for equality bodies (the Discrimination Ombudsman in Sweden). We have pushed politically for the Council of Ministers to adopt the anti-discrimination directive, which is an important piece of the puzzle. The Centre Party wants to create an equal union for everyone, regardless of their gender identity, ethnicity or whether they have a disability. Another way we are working to create the conditions for diversity and inclusion is by gender mainstreaming the entire EU budget. Similarly, we want the disability rights perspective to permeate all legislation. We have also achieved this in a resolution on equal rights for people with disabilities. Alice Bah Kuhnke At EU level, I and the Green Party want to work for increased diversity and an inclusive labour market in several different ways. We want the EU to work more actively to promote the conditions for labour immigration, both to strengthen the supply of skills in the labour market and to enable people with different backgrounds and perspectives to work in Sweden and the EU. The EU's new Pay Transparency Directive, which we have put in place during the past parliamentary term, is also an important tool both for strengthening equality in the labour market and for increasing diversity. Abir Al-Sahlani Centre Party
Michaela Hollis Christian Democrats KD believes in the social market economy. If more countries are committed to strengthening it, we welcome that. However, this does not mean that we think it is a good idea for the EU to decide on these types of issues. Instead, social and labour market policy should be taken close to the citizen and based on the specific conditions prevailing in the individual member state. For Sweden, with a labour market model that differs from most European countries, this is particularly sensitive. Karin Karlsbro Liberals The negotiations on a sharpened European anti-discrimination law have been going on for many years, and when Sweden held the EU Presidency, we worked hard under the leadership of the Liberals to finally get the work moving forward. I want to continue to push for a new anti-discrimination directive to be put in place in the EU during the next term of office.
(Mr P Wåhlin takes part in the conversation)
Green PartyJesper Skalberg Karlsson
The ModeratesIn general, the Moderates believe that this is an issue that should be decided at EU level. The EU should involve co-operation that increases the exchange of ideas between countries and disseminates good examples. Enhanced exchange of experience is and should remain the primary form of co-operation in this area and the EU should focus on other issues where co-operation is necessary. We believe that labour market policy should be designed by the Member States themselves. In this way, we safeguard the Swedish model - and provide opportunities to develop it. Working life should be free from discrimination. But like labour market policy, we believe that this is primarily a matter for the member states. Views on these issues also differ quite markedly between EU member states. Raising the issue more at EU level would therefore mean that we would have to compromise more on our Swedish legislation. That would be unfortunate. Nor should the EU ever set limits on how much progress Sweden can make on these issues. Evin Incir Social Democrats We Social Democrats will continue to push for an EU that stands up for human rights, inclusion and diversity in all contexts. This includes taking action against discrimination and hate crimes, increasing participation in the labour market and strengthening trade union rights and security in our workplaces. We want to work for the EU to resume negotiations on the so-called horizontal anti-discrimination directive. It is also important that the EU's anti-racism action plan is extended. Beatrice Timgren Sweden Democrats - Has been cancelled and will not attend. We do not see that the EU should have any mandate in this regard. It is up to each Member State to deal with labour market issues. Nor do we see that supranational regulation would benefit Swedish interests in the labour market. In Sweden, we are good at these issues and a compromise could mean deterioration by Swedish standards. Zee Vieira The Left Party WE ARE WAITING FOR ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS
Question 2 - What challenges and obstacles do you see in the coming years for increased diversity and an inclusive labour market?
Unfortunately, compared to other EU countries, Sweden has an incredibly rigid and traditional approach to recruitment and skills. Instead of low thresholds into the labour market, we scare people away already at the application stage by requiring, for example, perfect Swedish - and then speaking mostly English in the workplace. Employers need to recruit in new ways and actively work to incorporate anti-racism into their organisation, otherwise we will never achieve real diversity. I see this as the biggest challenge ahead. At the same time, I am convinced that sooner or later employers will be forced to change, partly because of skills shortages but also because otherwise they will be overtaken by competitors. Studies clearly show that inclusive workplaces are more productive and competitive. Labour law and discrimination legislation should be a national competence. One challenge is that the EU is trying to regulate these issues in detail, which does not work out well because there are different conditions in different member states. However, the EU must ensure that all Member States have adequate protection against discrimination. This is based on the fact that the EU must uphold the fundamental values on which cooperation is based, and uphold the conventions ratified by all EU countries and the Union as a whole. One example is the position of people with disabilities in the labour market and ensuring that each country takes responsibility for its commitments in this regard. Alice Bah Kuhnke In the Swedish labour market, I am concerned about widening gaps, which reduce people's opportunities. Most people who are out of work want nothing more than to get a job and support themselves, but support needs to be better. The way in which the current government talks about creating incentives for people to get out of benefit dependency by in practice reducing benefits and weakening social security systems can often be perceived as a mockery for people who in practice lack real opportunities. The Green Party believes that support measures, such as individually adapted training and retraining opportunities, are extremely important and must be offered to a greater extent. People with disabilities who need assistive technology need to get it faster and more easily.Abir Al-Sahlani Centre Party
Michaela Hollis Christian Democrats
Karin Karlsbro Liberals As a Liberal, I will always stand up for diversity and inclusion, no matter which way the wind blows. "United in Diversity" is the EU's motto and I will always stand by it. But there are political forces, right-wing nationalisms, that work against the fundamental values of the EU.
(Mr P Wåhlin takes part in the conversation)
Green Party
The pace of working life and the high number of stress-related sick leaves are a major challenge. We cannot have a working life that creates illness in the way it does today. The government has recently decided to remove support for employers with high sick pay costs. We think this is a big mistake, as it will reduce the possibility for small employers to be open about employing people who are more likely to be ill than others.Jesper Skalberg Karlsson
The ModeratesViews on labour market policies and discrimination legislation differ between EU Member States. One challenge is that the EU is trying to micromanage these issues. The Moderates believe that labour market policy should be designed by the Member States themselves. This is how we can best safeguard the Swedish model and at the same time provide opportunities to develop it. The EU must ensure that all member states have good protection against discrimination. However, the EU should not micromanage member states; on the other hand, the EU should carefully consider an inclusive labour market and ensure that each country takes responsibility for its part in this commitment. Evin Incir Social Democrats The biggest threat of all is the far-right forces that are on the rise. These forces risk being further normalised when conservative and liberal forces choose to cooperate with them. Beatrice Timgren Sweden Democrats - Has been cancelled and will not attend. Everyone should have the same opportunities regardless of gender or ethnic background. However, we see the EU's attempts to introduce quotas as an obstacle; when policy is to govern who gets a job, it should be a question of gender and not a question of competence, we believe that it counteracts an inclusive labour market. Zee Vieira The Left Party WE ARE WAITING FOR ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS.
Question 3 - According to the "EU Action Plan against Racism 2020-2025", 29% feel they are discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin when it comes to jobs, how will you push for this issue to remain high on the EU agenda?
As a liberal immigrant woman, I see it as my main task to hold the line against the rise of the extreme right in Europe that embodies racism. While proving to other unaccompanied minors that it is possible to work your way up even if you have a foreign surname or are an unaccompanied refugee child. Representation matters, plain and simple. Number two is to mainstream anti-racism, gender equality and the disability rights perspective in everything I do, to ensure that it is included in all legislation and resolutions. For example, the Centre Party is actively pushing for the development of artificial intelligence, which will also be a major issue in the next parliamentary term, to be protected against racist bias. For me and the Green Party, it is self-evident that there should be zero tolerance of racism in the EU. Until we reach that goal, the EU's work against racism must continue. The Green Party in the European Parliament prioritises the work against racism and discrimination and has, for example, during the term of office, got the entire European Parliament to join us in condemning the widespread racism in the EU.Abir Al-Sahlani Centre Party Michaela Hollis Christian Democrats KD believes in the social market economy. If more countries are committed to strengthening it, we welcome that. However, this does not mean that we think it is a good idea for the EU to decide on these types of issues. Instead, social and labour market policy should be taken close to the citizen and based on the specific conditions prevailing in the individual member state. For Sweden, with a labour market model that differs from most European countries, this is particularly sensitive. Karin Karlsbro Liberals For the EU to live up to its motto "United in Diversity", work to combat discrimination needs to be carried out throughout the EU. We are working to ensure that the new anti-discrimination directive is in place. Alice Bah Kuhnke
(Mr P Wåhlin takes part in the conversation)
Green PartyJesper Skalberg Karlsson
The ModeratesThe EU is rarely the right intervention to address labour market issues. Europe's different labour markets operate in different ways and are characterised by different traditions. The Moderates believe in European cooperation, but also know that the Member States' labour markets operate in different ways and require different solutions. At the same time, we want to emphasise that the EU must ensure that all member states have good protection against discrimination, and must carefully consider an inclusive working life and ensure that each country takes responsibility for its part in this commitment. Evin Incir Social Democrats During the mandate, I led the work to produce the European Parliament's first report on anti-racism in Europe. We will work to ensure that the EU has a new action plan in place next term, strengthened by concrete monitoring mechanisms, benchmarks and targets. This will require political leadership and peer pressure. In addition, we will work for the EU to put in place an anti-discrimination directive that protects against discrimination in all areas of society, not just the labour market. Beatrice Timgren Sweden Democrats - Has been cancelled and will not attend. We do not see that the EU should have any mandate in this regard. It is up to each Member State to deal with labour market issues. Nor do we see that supranational regulation would benefit Swedish interests in the labour market. In Sweden, we are good at these issues and a compromise could mean deterioration by Swedish standards. Zee Vieira
The Left PartyWE ARE WAITING FOR ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS.
Question 4 - What are your and your party's views on the CSRD Directive and the common rules on corporate sustainability reporting? Specifically, what are your views on corporate sustainability reporting on social and human rights and diversity issues?
Alice Bah Kuhnke Zee VieiraAbir Al-Sahlani Centre Party The Centre Party supports the new sustainability rules. I think it is good that companies, but also workplaces in general, both public and private, are forced to think about diversity and report on how they work for inclusion. However, for them to have the desired effect and contribute to increased transparency for investors, companies, civil society and individuals, the reporting requirements must be clear and feasible for companies. It should be easy to get it right. Michaela Hollis Christian Democrats The objectives are obvious to support. But it is a balance not to create too burdensome administration for small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU's internal market. Too much red tape hampers innovation and growth. The issue must be monitored based on the principle of proportionality. Karin Karlsbro Liberals I was involved in negotiating the new CSRD directive that was put in place this term, and it is good that there are now clear rules in place for corporate sustainability reporting on social and human rights and diversity issues.
(Mr P Wåhlin takes part in the conversation)
Green PartyI am positive that the CSRD has now been adopted with the strengthened requirements for sustainability reporting and where more companies are included. Not least, we in the Green Party are proud of the increased requirements for reporting on social and human rights and diversity issues that our Green lead negotiator pushed through, where we see a strong improvement compared to the situation before and compared to the Commission's initial proposal. At the same time, the Green Party wants to see the CSRD broadened to include more companies, the requirements made stricter and the penalties for non-reporting tightened. Jesper Skalberg Karlsson
The ModeratesThe Moderates support the aim of the directive; it is well known that working conditions in several countries around the world are highly problematic and we need to continuously support efforts to improve them. The large companies with entire legal departments would be able to handle this type of legislation, but their subcontractors, the small and medium-sized enterprises, do not have the same conditions. Large companies will impose these requirements on their subcontractors which they will not be able to fulfil, they do not have the resources to bring in lawyers to deal with this complex regulatory burden. Europe has already fallen behind the US in growth due to a heavy regulatory burden, and as drafted, this directive would mean more new bureaucracy that hurts Swedish companies. This is a good intention, but as the proposal is currently drafted, it risks becoming an excessive and burdensome administrative burden for companies. Evin Incir Social Democrats This is a crucial piece of legislation to ensure that companies comply with European sustainability reporting standards. Improved reporting on social and environmental aspects helps investors, civil society, consumers and other stakeholders assess the sustainability of their activities. It strengthens human rights, democracy, gender equality and the rule of law. It is also important in the fight against environmental and climate change and in promoting fair and decent conditions in the labour market. Beatrice Timgren Sweden Democrats We see that this can be problematic for many smaller companies and for the larger companies that in turn must check that their subcontractors have taken care of their administration and reporting in this area. While the intentions may be good, we want to see less regulation and administration in all sectors. It is detrimental to Europe's competitiveness if companies have to focus primarily on administration and not on developing their business.
The Left PartyWE ARE WAITING FOR ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS.
EU candidates are responsible for their answers.
