A good week for skills migration is a good week for Sweden

Digitization Skills supply

Events on two consecutive Tuesdays this December signal a turnaround on the issue of the highly damaging skills deportations. With the rulings of the Migration Court of Appeal in the Danyar and web programmer cases, followed by the Ahnborgs Inquiry's proposals, all sought-after labor migrants who know that their employers have given them reasonable conditions can now feel much more confident about staying in Sweden. All this is the result of a concerted effort by a number of actors, including IT&Telecom companies.

The decision of the Migration Court of Appeal on Tuesday 12/12(the Danyar case, the web programmer case) means, in short, that the Migration Agency must in future make an overall assessment when processing applications for extension of work permits, or for the granting of permanent residence permits. Until then, the Migration Agency had established a practice where the slightest error committed by an employer, past or present, led to the labor migrant not being granted an extension of the permit - thus in practice being deported. This is despite the fact that in many cases they have been established in Sweden with their families for many years, and are also in great demand by their employers.

In the process of gathering evidence for the web programmer judgment, the Court asked the social partners, represented by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and Saco, for their views on the concept of "collective agreement or practice in the industry or profession", which is central to the law and which should guide the reasonableness of the conditions. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise's response was prepared in collaboration between the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise's labor market department, Almega's employer and industrial policy units and IT&Telecom companies. The statement emphasized, among other things, that non-collective employment agreements are common in the IT industry, that the content of these agreements may deviate from the collective agreements without being inferior, and that companies cannot therefore be considered less responsible simply because they do not comply with collective agreements.

In its judgment, the Migration Court of Appeal quotes the opinion of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, and arrives at the following wording where "overall assessment" is the common denominator:

  • Employers can correct discrepancies to avoid rejection. The changes must be made before the Migration Agency discovers them.
  • Correcting deviations should also include compensating the worker for the period the conditions deviated from the collective agreements.
  • The deviations may only have been of a temporary nature; overall, working conditions must have been good during the employment period as a whole.
  • Employers who have not signed a collective agreement are allowed to set their terms and conditions in a way that deviates from the applicable collective agreement as long as the terms and conditions of employment are not worse than "what is customary in the profession or industry". This can probably be interpreted as meaning that it is possible to refrain from taking out collectively agreed insurance as long as the employee is compensated with higher wages.

The following Tuesday, February 18, the Ahnborg inquiry presented proposals for legislative changes that in many respects confirm the practice now established by the Migration Court of Appeal. An important addition to the report is that even minor errors that the employer has not voluntarily corrected should not lead to deportation.

Our colleagues at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise have pointed out a weakness in the committee's proposal that could risk locking the application of what is meant by reasonable terms to those that apply to collective agreements. It will be a task for us referral bodies to ensure that this is corrected before an amended law is enacted later in 2018.

In addition, there are now a few more smaller, and one larger, task for industries, politicians and authorities involved in migration and integration. One of the smaller tasks is to enable those who have been waiting a long time for an extension of their permits to travel in and out of the country during the waiting period - which is important for both professional and private reasons. The bigger task is to urgently repair Sweden's reputation as a nation that attracts talent. A reputation that has unfortunately been severely damaged by the Migration Agency's application in recent years.

All in all, the decisions and proposals presented on Tuesday are a powerful victory for many people and, of course, for the Swedish labor market and Sweden as a whole. The victory is a result of persistent organizational cooperation where, in addition to the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and Almega, I would like to highlight the Centre for Justice, which has pursued the Danyar case, and the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, which in many ways has highlighted the importance of achieving a quick solution to the skilled deportations, is an important and appreciated ally in the fight.

Let's rejoice in these victories, take some time off for Christmas and then get back to work. With hope for a better 2018!