Structural Change: Consequences and Alternatives

Abstract

Swedish plant-closure research has evolved from the study of individual, community, and regional consequences to the evaluation of political measures taken, evaluation of future consequences, and the development of counterproposals and alternatives to plant closures and cut-backs. What is occurring in the development of the Swedish manufacturing industry today is not only a decrease in employment and the total number of places of employment, but also a rapid change of production technology stimulating capital-intensive and concentrated production. This article takes up examples from the Swedish food and glass industry. There are several laws that govern plant closures and production cutbacks. The Swedish Codetermination Act has given the trade union new rights to information and negotiation before decisions are made. However, the law still reserves for the employer the right to decide. The article concludes with a discussion of the possibilities to form union counterproposals with examples from the Swedish Food Workers Union's industry policy program.

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References

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4. For a bibliography of research in the field of plant closures, see Peter Mossfeldt , Sista Skiftet (Stockholm: Arbetslivscentrum, 1983); an English summary is being prepared by John Fry of Arbetslivscentrum.

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