Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 335, November 2004

Case No 2171 (Sweden) - Complaint date: 20-NOV-01 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 181. At its June 2004 session, the Committee examined this case, which concerns a statutory amendment enabling workers to remain employed until the age of 67 and prohibiting negotiated clauses on compulsory early retirement. The Committee recalled its previous request that the Government should take remedial measures so that agreements already negotiated in such matters continue to produce all their effects until their expiry dates. It also requested the Government to keep it informed of the results obtained at a meeting with bargaining partners in June 2003, and on any further consultation held. Finally, the Committee requested the Government to implement its recommendations in conformity with freedom of association principles and to keep it informed of developments [see 334th Report, para. 66].
2. 182. In a communication dated 17 September 2004, the Government explains that the Committee’s request for “remedial measures so that agreements already negotiated on compulsory retirement age shall continue to produce all their effects until their expiry dates, including after 31 December 2002” is complicated, for both political and legal reasons. For the Government, the political complication arises because the provision has been prompted by the new pension system, which is based on an agreement between five of the parliamentary parties; the issue is now beyond the Government since the Parliament has enacted the new provisions. As regards the legal aspects, several problems must be taken into account when considering putting back in force a collective agreement that has been made invalid for some time, or even renegotiated. The Government also states that the Minister for Employment intends to resume contacts with social partners in the near future.
3. 183. The Committee notes this information. While noting the Government’s explanations on the political and legal difficulties that may arise in implementing said recommendations, the Committee refers to its extensive analysis of the fundamental issues at stake in its initial examination on the merits of this case [330th Report, paras. 1010-1053] including the misgivings that existed at national level on the proposed legislation within the workers’ and employers’ communities, the Swedish tripartite ILO Committee (ibid. para. 1017) and the Swedish Council on Legislation [ibid., para. 1026] and finds no reason to vary its recommendations. The Committee also notes that the Government did not provide the information requested concerning the results of the meeting held with bargaining partners in June 2003 and of any further consultations. The Committee therefore reiterates it previous requests: that the Government should take remedial measures so that agreements already negotiated on compulsory retirement age shall continue to produce all their effects until their expiry dates, including after 31 December 2002; and that it should resume thorough consultations on these issues, with a view to finding a negotiated solution which would be mutually acceptable to all parties concerned, in conformity with freedom of association principles. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this matter, and of the results of meetings with bargaining partners, including those which the Government states it intends to initiate in the near future.