Stockholm - In an attempt to tackle the effects of an ageing
population and a shrinking future labour force, the Swedish government
Tuesday presented proposals aimed at making it easier to move to
Sweden to work.
Migration Minister Tobias Billstrom told reporters he had no
estimate of how many people would be interested in applying for work
permits, but said 'key groups' at present included construction
workers and health workers.
Currently, work permits can be granted for up to 18 months but a
parliamentary commission last year suggested increasing the period to
24 months.
The new proposed system would allow foreign workers to stay up to
four years if they had employment, Billstrom said.
The proposal included allowing foreign workers, who could prove
their qualifications, to seek a three-month visa at a Swedish embassy
and then seek employment in Sweden.
Employers would also be allowed to look for labour abroad.
The proposal presented by Billstrom was to be debated by trade
unions, employers and other interest groups.
Compared to last year's proposal from a parliamentary inquiry
headed by former Social Democratic cabinet member Lena Hjelm-Wallen,
the trade unions would have less means of blocking applications.
Billstom stressed that the trade unions would still have an
important role 'in determining wages, collective agreements and
insurance terms.'
Dan Andersson, chief economist with blue-collar trade union
federation LO, has voiced doubts over the trade unions' reduced
influence in saying what jobs were impacted by labour shortages.
Billstrom said the proposed system would follow legislation that
specifies that positions should first be filled by workers in Sweden,
and if that fails by workers from other European Union members or
workers from the European Economic Area.
In the globalized world economy, Sweden faced challenges recruiting
labour Billstrom said, mentioning factors like language and climate
as hurdles.
He said the proposal would also allow foreign students who have
graduated from a Swedish university to seek work in Sweden without
first having to return to their native country, as is the case now.
In neighbouring Finland, Minister of Migration and European Affairs
Astrid Thors also touched on work visas in an interview published
Tuesday.
'The government aims for a good employment policy, but there are
already sectors where the domestic labour force is insufficient,'
Thors was quoted as telling the Finnish news agency STT.
By introducing work visas, some of the delay in the present system
where authorities have to investigate if there is a work shortage or
not before giving their approval would be reduced, Thors said.
Random checks could be introduced to ensure that the system is
upheld, she said.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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