Från trygghet till omställning: avtal mellan PTK och SAF

Abstract

This article provides a history on how collective agreements for employment security and transition between white-collar unions (PTK) and private sector
employers (SAF) has emerged and changed in the shadow of Sweden’s public active labor market policies during five decades. The results show that the design of the agreements has changed due to shifts in bargaining power, changes in the perceived need in addition to protections provided by the welfare state. We argue that the agreements, their emergence, and their change, can be understood as an expression of a “trilemma” between security, flexibility, and skill development.