Company got more requests than it bargained for

A company that performed painting and blasting services was bound by a collective agreement. According to the collective agreement, there had to be annual salary negotiations for the trained painters in the company. In connection with the negotiations, a union sent an information and meeting request to the company in January.

At the time, the company had 21 employees. 16 of the employees were covered by the collective agreement. Only one of the 16 employees was a trained painter. However, the negotiation request stated that the union also wanted to negotiate for the employees who were not trained painters. For that reason, the union requested information on the other employees as well. At the negotiation meeting the company only reported the salary of the trained painter.

Wrong basis for getting access to salary information

The Labor Court found that the collective agreement gave the union an information right. However, that right required that the request was made in connection with a workplace visit, not a salary negotiation. As there had been no workplace visits, the company had not breached the collective agreement by only providing information about the trained painter.

Initially, the Labor Court noted that there was no common understanding or practice in this area, which could lead to another conclusion. Previously, the company had responded to union requests in different ways. Therefore, the Labor Court looked at the wording and purpose of the collective agreement.

In its interpretation, the Labor Court considered that the rule was written over 100 years ago and had never been updated. The rule only gave the union a right to information on non-union members in connection with workplace visits. Consequently, the rule could not be used to obtain information as part of the annual salary negotiations.

IUNO’s opinion

Negotiation is central to the Swedish model and for better conditions on the labor market. In various negotiations, unions have the right to obtain information about companies and their employees. However, before sharing, companies are responsible for verifying if there is a basis for transmitting employee data.

IUNO recommends companies to be mindful about what information is requested when negotiating salaries with the union. It is important not to disclose information that is not necessary to respect both the company's negotiating position and the employees' right to privacy in the workplace.

[The Swedish Labor Court’s decision of 30 August 2023 in case 46/23]