About the programme

The programme

The Swedish Workplace Programme (SWP) is a joint effort between the International Council of Swedish Industry (NIR) and the Metal and Industrial Workers Union, IF Metall. The  programme  builds on over a decade of experience in hundreds workplaces in multiple countries. SWP is funded by Sida, Sweden’s government agency for development cooperation.

READ AND DOWNLOAD A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE PROGRAMME (PDF)

International Council of Swedish Industry

NIR is a member based non-profit organisation. NIR’s current members consist of nine of Sweden’s largest exporting companies, as well as the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK) and SEB. NIR has been operating for sixty years in the nexus between aid and trade and interacting with a multitude of stakeholders ranging from governments, agencies, academia, and NGOs, as well as business in Sweden and in partner countries. NIR has also been partnering with trade unions for more than a decade.

IF Metall

The Metal and Industrial workers union, IF Metall, partners with NIR in the Swedish Workplace Programme to provide expertise and experience in the Swedish Model – specifically in Social dialogue as it is a proven method in achieving decent work.

Read more about IF Metall

From strategic focus to practical solutions

Companies that invest in their employees and promote decent work become employers of choice and play an active role in the social and economic transformation. These investments promotes sustainable business and agenda 2030 with the global goals (SDG). Swedish Workplace Programme (SWP) contributes specifically towards the global goal 8 – Decent work and Economic growth.

The programme understands the complex challenges global companies face in relaying, promoting and enforcing their policies and guidelines within their various operations around the world. We offer the often-needed support in facilitating stronger relationships between management and employees. Our team works intimately with the local operation to identify areas of improvement in the workplace while developing activities and employee driven initiatives to achieve the desired goals and objectives.

Our efforts aim to have a far reaching effect not only within the local workplace but within the greater community as well. Participating companies benefit from our extensive SWP network through shared best practices and lessons learned, as well as by sharing their own contributions in the areas of decent and sustainable work in emerging and complex markets.

The programme's objectives

The Swedish Workplace Programme aims to improve the working conditions in multiple ways, leading to sustainable best practice that can be maintained for the future:

  • Contribute to sustainable business, decent work and inclusive economic growth
  • Establish or enhance structures that support dialogue in the workplace to facilitate workplace cooperation and productivity
  • Encourage workplaces to become more sustainable and go beyond compliance.
  • Equip organisations with the technical skills to develop the appropriate interventions in relation to challenges in the workplace
  • Provide platforms for dialogues and networks so companies can engage in joint strategic discussions on solutions to address sustainability challenges
  • Assist in developing best practice structures that can be replicated
  • Constitute a concrete tool for workplaces to contribute to international frameworks such as Agenda 2030, Global Compact, OECD Guidelines and ILO core conventions

Benefits

The main beneficiaries of the programme and the relationships established are the local employees and management. Other beneficiaries include members of local unions and suppliers. By implementing a dialogue structure at the workplace level, the beneficiaries are given increased opportunities to express their concerns, to organise and to communicate their needs.This approach enables the workplace to be well prepared to handle change, whether it is planned for or unforeseen.  

  • Increased productivity
  • Tools to handle conflicts
  • Tools to manage change processes
  • Established sustainability goals and action-oriented plans 
  • Reduced absenteeism and staff turnover
  • Increased trust from customers and other stakeholders
  • Integration of best practises on workplace cooperation and sustainability strategies
  • Tools to develop and implement company policies in practice

Partnerships

Peer to peer partnership

Peer to peer relationships are developed through our regional Sustainable Business Platforms (SBP). This is a way to engage both partnering companies and interested companies in joint strategic discussions as well as to share peer-to-peer learnings and best practices.

Partnership at the workplace

A strengthened dialogue structure combined with a well established relationship between employees and managers can have a lasting positive impact on the labour market at large. As democratic values and dialogues become standardised, trust and understanding increases between employers and employees and conflict decreases. The SWP approach enables the workplace to be well prepared to find joint solutions, mitigate risks, and handle change. 

Partnership within the Workplace Programme

The role of the Swedish Workplace Programme

  • Establish a workplace committee composed of both management and employees
  • Facilitate dialogues within the committee
  • Support the committee with expertise and training “free of charge”
  • Provide continuous support to the company for 12-18 months
  • Evaluate results to improve the programme on a continuous basis

Role of the partner company

  • Take ownership of the Workplace Programme
  • Commit to the implementation of the Workplace Programme
  • Allocate time, resources and logistical support to the Workplace Programme

Cost sharing model

No financial transactions are made between the parties. The company/workplace provide personnel, working time, venue and catering. SWP provides expert services in the facilitation of, and support for training and activities

The programme's strategic areas

The strategic areas of Decent Work, Partnerships and Sustainable Business include a wide variety of themes important to any company that wants to implement their company’s policies to fulfill the goals in Agenda 2030.

You can read more about these themes at Best Practice to see how others have addressed these challenges by using the SWP approach. Be sure to check out the reports and studies for further inspiration.

Our background

Over the past 14 years, the Swedish Workplace Programme (SWP) has been developed with numerous global Swedish industry companies at 600 different workplaces in Sub-Saharan Africa for the purpose of developing a joint approach to mitigate the negative impact of HIV and AIDS at the workplace.

Supporting the partnership between employees and management by means of facilitation through social dialogue, companies were able to improve the sustainability of their business operations and to reduce the impact of the disease for their employees.

The impact shows that diverse workplaces facilitate higher levels of productivity and profitability and investments in partnerships were shown to improve communication and workplace well-being, which lead to business growth.

The Swedish Workplace Programme and its approach is developed from the learnings collected from SWHAP (Swedish Workplace Hiv Aids Programme).

Learn more about the SWHAP programme and its accomplishments in the films below.

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Pilot projects

During 2019 the team initially piloted the Swedish Workplace Programme (SWP). The SWP approach uses social dialogue structures  to facilitate a relationship between management and employees’ representatives so that they can take joint responsibility in the design and implementation of improvements at the workplace.

The 23 pilots were intended to establish workplace committees who would then use the social dialogue structure to address and find solutions for identified challenges related to sustainability and decent work in the workplace. These dialogues were then put into action through employee driven initiatives that resulted in change in the workplace. The pilots also sought to identify key learnings and strategies to be used in the global roll-out in 2020.

The outcome of the pilots confirms that the SWP approach is effective in establishing dialogue between employers and employees in the workplace, even when tackling themes beyond wellness and HIV/AIDS. 

The social dialogue structure facilitates the identification of challenges of mutual concern at the workplace while providing a platform that allows for the co-creation of solutions.

The SWP approach also proved useful for supporting the policy development, dissemination and implementation process.

Contact us

+46 8 783 82 68
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Global office

World Trade Center

Klarabergsviadukten 70
111 64 Stockholm

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This executive summary presents the findings from the study “Workplace Cooperation: Finding Practical Solutions in the Colombian Context,” conducted by the Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP). The study evaluates the added value of the Swedish Workplace Programme (SWP) dialogue and cooperation model within the Colombian labor market.

Throughout 2022, FIP dedicated efforts to thoroughly understand the SWP model, including its concept, foundations, implementation process, and contributions to the labor market. In 2023, FIP documented the experiences of three companies—SKF Latin Trade, Securitas, and Epiroc—that implemented the SWP model in practice. The study also included face-to-face workshops to gather feedback from various stakeholders including civil society, businesses, government, academia, and international cooperation. The findings suggest that the SWP model has the potential to strengthen labor relations, contribute to decent work, and resolve workplace conflicts in Colombia.

The case studies highlight the importance of collaboration between employers and workers to promote decent work and sustainable development in Colombia. They demonstrate that social dialogue facilitates worker participation in labor decision-making, enhances their representativeness, and promotes cooperation between employers and employees, thus improving labor relations and contributing to the well-being of both employees and companies.

The SWP model is particularly noted for improving workplace relationships and commitment to jointly finding solutions to challenges faced by workers and the company. It empowers workers, enhances leadership, and helps integrate business policies into daily practices, reducing the initial disconnect between management objectives and the day-to-day realities of workers. The study also highlights the model’s capacity to manage conflicts constructively, transforming the perception of conflict as an opportunity for improvement. Structured dialogues deepen understanding of the underlying causes of conflicts, fostering empathy and facilitating effective resolution. This promotes a culture of collaboration and a democratic approach to decision-making, building trust.

Additionally, the model is recognized for enabling workers to make decisions, identify challenges, and propose solutions that impact their well-being, and bridging gender gaps in the workplace. Its inclusive approach adapts to the unique needs and characteristics of each company, promoting a stronger and more diverse organizational culture. It also drives good work performance and productivity by involving workers in problem identification and resolution, as well as in implementing improvements and efficiently identifying ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) risks for companies.

The document identifies the SWP model’s added value in empowering direct interaction among labor stakeholders in Colombia, overcoming historical or cultural reservations, and contributing to the development of stronger labor relations and improved workplace environments in the country.

Challenges and opportunities of the model are also discussed. The study points out the importance of addressing value chain risks, particularly in a global context where corporate clients demand decent work processes and due diligence. It emphasizes the need to integrate SMEs into this process and use anchor companies as drivers of social dialogue throughout the value chain. The role of the state in social dialogue and the importance of highlighting the benefits of the model for adoption across various business sectors are discussed.

The opportunities of the model include raising awareness of human rights in the workplace in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP), to strengthen due diligence, manage risks, promote long-term sustainability, and improve organizational culture. The document also underscores the importance of involving workers in change processes, leveraging their insights for continuous improvement of processes, and fostering innovation opportunities. Lastly, it suggests replicating the model in value chains to address work environment risks and gender biases, involving suppliers and contractors, and integrating the model into corporate policies to strengthen existing programs and transform organizational culture towards resource efficiency and effective participation of employers and workers.

The intervention of the SWP programme had a direct effect at the workplaces, where shop stewards listed several cases where they had managed to intervene and secure results in dialogue with management, avert crises or find solutions based on opportunities and the communication skills obtained during the SWP training. For the Amalgamated Metal Workers Unions in Kenya, the shop stewards pointed to how the training had enabled them to design their own strategies at the workplace in relation to supervisors and staff, and to achieve many concrete results.