BEFORE THE BREAKDOWN OF THE SALTSJÖBADEN SPIRIT OF LABOUR MARKET COOPERATION: The Swedish Employers’ Confederation and workplace democracy in the 1960s

Abstract

The 1976 Swedish landmark law on workplace democracy, Medbestämmandelagen (MBL), has traditionally been regarded as a victory of social democracy over recalcitrant employers. In contrast, this article shows how, in fact, before the law, the Swedish Employers' Confederation (SAF) was the main driver behind Swedish research on work life reform, and the main promoter of employer-union dialogue on the matter. Crucially, in the 1960s, SAF endorsed the internationally pioneering thinking of economist Eric Rhenman, who argued that conflict within the firm between managers and unions was unavoidable, healthy, and could be good for business if framed in a productive manner. Today, this line of management thinking is termed the Scandinavian Cooperative Advantage.However, in the early 1970s, Swedish social democracy radicalized abruptly. The SAF board initially interpreted the new radicalism as a masquerade to appease activists. SAF assumed that, behind the scenes, the Swedish spirit of consensus-oriented labour market dialogue would prevail, as it had since the 1938 Saltsjöbaden agreement. And assuredly, the actual effects of the MBL law proved to be considerably less radical than advertised, and broadly compatible with Rhenman's thinking. Still, social democracy's new ideological rhetoric helped prompt SAF's late 1970s shift from cooperation to conflict.

The crying boss: Activating “human resources” through sensitivity training in 1970s Sweden

“…This points to an important context for this new method, as sensitivity training was introduced at a time when behavioral scientific work‐life research and applied work and organization psychology were gaining importance in Sweden. The PA‐council had contributed in crucial ways to the emergence and establishment of this new field of research and consultation in Sweden (Hedin, 2019, p. 597; SOU 1973:55, pp. 99–112).…”

“…One important question facing the labor market parties in the postwar period concerned industrial democracy or codetermination in the workplace. Since the 1940s, the unions had pursued the issue of “industrial democracy,” and from the 1960s onwards the question grew increasingly important even to SAF, which put together its own policy group on the democratization of working life in 1961 and collaborated with LO and TCO within the Development Council for Cooperation ( Utvecklingsrådet för samarbetsfrågor ), founded in 1966 (Hedin, 2019, pp. 597ff.…”

“…The early 1970s, however, brought about new political frictions. As a response to the radicalization of the trade unions and a number of strikes by factory workers, the social democratic party intensified its political demands and began, together with the blue‐collar trade unions, to push for radical change and new legislation regarding work conditions; the question of worker autonomy was now pursued with greater force, coupled to other—apparently more radical—demands, such as improvements to the “working environment” and the gradual socialization of companies through “employee funds” (Hedin, 2019, p. 592, see also Östberg, 2002, pp. 153–155; Wiklund, 2006, pp.…”