Consensus Not Whole Story | Mirage News
Technology tamfitronics Uppsala UniversityTwentieth-century Swedish labour market policy was not solely shaped by inter-class cooperation, but also by tough conflicts between employers and employees, as industrial rationalisation and investments in new technology were met with protests from workers. As a new doctoral thesis in the field of economic history shows, this led to a tug-of-war within Swedish industry over how new technology should be deployed and how work should be organised."The image of the twentieth-century Swedish labour market as exceptionally cooperative is false. Even after the Saltsjöbaden Agreement of 1938, there were many conflicts between workers and employers, often fuelled by technological change. These disputes influenced the shape of what we now know as the Swedish model," says Arvand Mirsafian, who recently defended his thesis in economic history.In his thesis, Mirsafian examines how factory workers...
