The weak krona has boosted Swedish export industry – something LO thinks the workers haven't got a share of.
We cannot enter into a collective bargaining agreement relying on the krona continuing to weaken. It could just as well strengthen ahead, says Svenskt Näringsliv's chief economist Sven-Olov Daunfeldt.
Yesterday it was LO. On Friday, it's Svenskt Näringsliv's turn to give their view on the Swedish economy. Both parties are devoting a lot of energy to pointing out the conditions ahead of this winter's major wage negotiations. And not entirely unexpectedly, they have different approaches.
LO highlighted, with the support of the National Institute of Economic Research's statistics, that the owners' share of corporate profits has risen to historically high levels, at the expense of the workers. This means there is a higher wage scope ahead, according to the union.
The profit-sharing ratio is a very poor measure of profitability in the business sector. It doesn't take into account interest costs, which have increased greatly during this period, says Sven-Olov Daunfeldt.
That many companies, primarily in the export industry, have strengthened their position with rising profits in recent years is something Svenskt Näringsliv doesn't want to talk much about. It's history and is almost entirely due to the weak krona, which has made Swedish goods cheaper abroad.
Ahead of the collective bargaining agreement, it's about looking forward, and then there are many companies that are struggling now, according to Daunfeldt.
I think the bankruptcy statistics and layoff statistics point to that.
That it, as LO wants to make it seem, is only households and wage earners who have been hit by the inflation shock, is not true, according to Daunfeldt.
It simply doesn't match reality.
But it's far from pitch-black, even if the employers would like to have that approach when it comes to wage negotiations.
There are glimmers of light ahead of next year. We've probably reached the bottom, says Daunfeldt.
