Sweden has a long history of social dialogue, that is the collaboration between actors in the labour market – typically employers, employees and their organisations – as well as between them and the government. Recognition of the social benefits of social dialogue has encouraged development of the Global Deal – a global initiative that aims to encourage governments, businesses, unions and other organisations to make commitments to promote social dialogue internationally.
The Global Deal was launched by the Swedish Government together with the ILO and the OECD in September 2016. It seeks to contribute to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development of the 2030 Agenda, in particular Goal 8 – to ‘promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all’ – but also other goals, including Goal 10, to ‘reduce inequality within and among countries’.
One of the first companies to join the Global Deal was the Swedish bus and truck manufacturer Scania. A recent example from the company in South Africa highlights the company’s participation in the Swedish Workplace HIV/AIDS Programme (SWHAP), which has been supported by the Regional SRHR team based at the Embassy of Sweden in Lusaka since 2004. Read more about the programme and how it contributes not only to the health of Scania’s staff in South Africa but has improved relations between management and staff - link below.
