Swedish business is raging against proposals for shorter working hours

The Swedish party Socialdemokratarna put forward a proposal on Saturday to shorten working hours

“All other Nordic countries have implemented shorter working hours. The fact is that in Sweden we have the longest working hours in all of Europe, said Annika Strandhäll, former Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of Climate and Environment, and current leader of S-women, in an interview on Sveriges Radio.

Annika Strandhäll leads the Social Democrats’ working group for a sustainable working life, but she does not give details about how the new proposal will be designed, writes Dagens Industri.

Corrects criticism

The business organization Svenskt Näringsliv sharply criticizes the proposal.

“Sweden faces very challenging tasks, such as the green transition, the strengthening of the judiciary and the defence. Our growth is at the bottom of Europe,” says Mattias Dahl, deputy director and head of employer affairs at Svenskt Näringsliv to Dagens Industri.

“In this situation, talking about working less seems downright irresponsible.”

According to the newspaper, he further points out that he believes the consequences of shorter working hours will be significant, and that welfare will be affected with longer queues for operations, worse daycare centers and smaller schools.

In addition, he believes that the private sector will produce fewer goods and services, that production will move abroad and that Sweden will become poorer.

Will cut from 40 to 35 hours

A reduction in the statutory weekly working hours from 40 to 35 hours will result in a production decline of eight percent, while GDP will fall by NOK 500 billion per year, writes Svenskt Näringsliv on Saturday.

If working hours are reduced to 30 hours, GDP will fall by NOK 1,087 billion each year, according to Svenskt Näringsliv.

“I think everyone can imagine that. If you think about going home five or ten hours earlier from work each week, you realize that much less will be done. If this happens at the societal level, it will have dramatic consequences,” Dahl is said to have stated.

He also questions who will take the new jobs that arise when those who are employed now reduce their working hours.