Companies must be able to plan their operations for more than a few weeks.
When we invest, we want to know if we will have staff in the coming months. That is very remarkable, says Per Hidesten, CEO of the employers' organization Industriarbetsgivarna.
Employers have long criticized the government and the coalition party, the Sweden Democrats, for interfering in wage formation through labor immigration. This is fundamentally wrong; it is unions and employers who set wages, not the government.
They are confusing the labor market with migration, says Hidesten.
Double standards
He recalls that the government recently praised the removal of EU minimum wages from the agenda, arguing that politicians should not set wages.
But then you sit here at home and decide the salaries for a certain group; it's the same thing, says Hidesten.
The Riksdag has already hammered out the decision that the wage floor for a labor immigrant should be 90 percent of the median wage, that is, 33,390 kronor per month, up from the current level of 29,680 kronor.
Three lists
The government has promised exceptions, but has not yet presented any such list with just over three weeks to go.
The delay is due to the fact that the Tidö parties disagree.
That's how I interpret it, says Hidesten.
The Swedish Migration Board has developed proposals for three exception lists, of varying lengths, with occupations where there is an estimated shortage of labor.
It is the government that ultimately decides. The work is still ongoing, so it will probably take at least another week, says the press secretary to Migration Minister Johan Forssell (M). "The list will be presented in the near future and will come into force at the same time as the new salary requirement."
