Sweden 3 (Ake Dahl)
	Report: Session 1 & 2

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Hello Alana and Jouko - pares inter pares!

Our third session was as suggested in our manual mainly devoted to the questions of the role os global company councils and of what other methods could be used to organise workers in the TNC:s. As a base for our discussions were used documents on the EWC:s - European Work Councils.

We noticed that the cases given were all from countries where trade unions are accepted parts of the Establishment, although the unions in Lithuania are rather young. Similar cases would be difficult to find from countries where trade unions are forced to toe the line if not outright forbidden.

The different situations in different countries with regard to the status of trade unions made us believe that the forthcoming Strategy Outlines are likely to end up with a variety of scenarios each one asking for its own solution.

One such solution is the etablishment of the European Work Councils, EWC:s. Advisory bodies where employees and employers can meet on formally equal terms. The process ending up with the EWC:s has been a long and bumpy one starting in 1970 and leading up to the decision on the EWC:s in september 1994. The idea was to consider the EWC:s as an opener for further development of labour practice, but only some weeks ago we learned that the Union of Industrial and Employers´ Confederations of Europe, UNICE, has refused to go on with the negotiations. Quite alarming, isn´t it? But the European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC, is still optimistic feeling the support of the Commission of the European Union.

There are other examples of the "up-hill-struggle" pestering the life of  the trade unions. The Swedish Trade Union Confederation, LO, is participating in the otherwise rather secret negotiationsm on the MAI. LO has, to the best of our knowledge, never criticised the content of the proposed agreement. They have, however, tried very hard to convince the other parties, including the Swedish Government(sic!) of the necessity to make possible for the MAI to accomodate some rules guarding the rights och the employees. So far, in vain!

Inspite of all difficulties - or perhaps because of them - there have to be functioning advisory bodies also in TNC:s operating outside Europe. The agreements making this possible may well be copied from the directive on the EW:s. It is quite likely that the TNC:s will find it feasible to accept that rather limited influence by the workers. Then it must be up to the workers themselves or their representatives to make use of the new platform with an utmost care. Mutual understanding and respect will be the catchwords.

One way to assist in the development of a better representation of the workers could be to convince the TNC:s running EWC:s to accept the presence of employees working in places outside Europe. This may be possible as shown by the Finnish company, Kones´ Lifts. We noted with interest the introduction of IT-technology as a mean of  improved effectiveness of the trade union operations. This "weapon" will be increasingly important as the Internet will become available to more and more employees all over the world. The Internet may well become the information channel we have been waiting for even in developing countries.

Many regards to all comrades from SWE 3 through Ake Dahl.

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