PARTNERSHIP DRIVEN WORKPLACES

APPLYING THE SWEDISH MODEL
TO DRIVE INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Panel discussions @ EXPO 2020 - DUBAI
10 December 2021 - 16.00 DUBAI (13.00 CET)

What is the Swedish Model and is it “Swedish”?

Can it be applicable in other contexts?

We will explore the possibilities and challenges for workplace relations as a tool to better support innovation and sustainability during two diverse panels at the EXPO 2020. Joining us in Dubai to debate and discuss workplace cooperation models in a global context are the president of the Swedish union IF Metall and senior business leaders.

Come join us to discover practical examples of how companies and employees are turning policy into good practice with the Swedish Workplace Programme team from Colombia, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam.

SESSION No 1

The Swedish Model
- how can it be applied in the world?

Panel discussion about how the Swedish Model contributes to the sustainable development agenda. Does the model work everywhere, what are the important building blocks to support innovation and promote sustainability? The session explores the possibilities, challenges and processes for using the model in a  practical way in different cultural contexts.

SESSION NO 2

Partner Driven Workplaces - how does it work?

What are the pre-requisites for good workplace cooperation? Meet the Regional Coordinators in the Swedish Workplace Programme who have implemented an approach in Colombia, South Africa, Kenya and Vietnam to strengthen the relations at the workplace between management and employees. Listen to their examples and stories.

SESSION no 3

Let’s talk and discuss in the room. 

UP!

Close

UPSKILLING OF UNION SHOP STEWARDS

A lack of enabling environment for social dialogue at the workplace level, despite the provision of legislative acts that protect and promote workplace cooperation is a reoccuring issue  in Kenya. To implement good policy there must be a fertil ground.

Therefore SWP developed the UP!  project. Together with Swedish companies as an entry point, and with unions i South africa and Kenya. 

In Kenya SWP created the SWP UP! Programme targeting skills development of the union Shop Stewards from 18 companies in the Automotive sector in Kenya during 2021. As a result, the Stewards were able to use their skills to build trust and cooperation with management in new ways to avoid conflicts. 

A second cohort of training, in close cooperation with union AUKMW, takes place in 2022.

The training allows shop stewards to step out of their daily routines and understand their role and the purpose of their union, understand the labour market context, the laws that regulate relationships and the business itself. But on a human level, many shop stewards also highlighted that they feel respected as human beings, and that they have developed the skills to engage with supervisors and management and experience respect in professional relations. The experiences had deeply impressed them and helped to project the vision of dialogue and mutual respect and their own potential as a means to change workplaces.

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.

Based on this shop steward upskilling, I feel confident that as a union we now have change ambassadors that will grow the industry, protect, and promote decent work principles for both the employer and the employees represented. And that disputes will be dealt with at the workplace level by though consultative dialogue.

Rose Omamo

General Secretary
Amalgamated Union of Kenya Metal Workers

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE CONTENT AND TRAININGS IN THE UP! PROJECT IN KENYA AND SOUTH AFRICA
Click Here