The Confederation of Professional Employees ( sv, Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation, TCO) is a national trade union centre, the

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

for 13

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

that organise

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

and other qualified

employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ot ...

s in both the private and the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

s. The affiliated trade unions represent about 1.1 million employees. In 2018, the TCO affiliated unions made up 37% of all active trade union members in Sweden (up from 17% in 1950), making the confederation the second largest of Sweden's three major confederations. The largest TCO affiliate is

Unionen Unionen is a Swedish white-collar trade union. The union was formed on 1 January 2008, when the Swedish Union of Commercial Salaried Employees merged with the Swedish Union of Clerical and Technical Employees in Industry. Like both its pred ...

with 551,000 active members in 2018. TCO is independent and not affiliated to any political party in Sweden. TCO is an affiliate of the European Trade Union Confederation and Eurocadres.

History

TCO is the product of two confederations that merged in 1944. The older organisation was the Confederation of Employees ( or DACO) founded in 1931 by seven private sector white collar unions representing 20,000 workers. The second organisation was the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees ( TCO) which was founded in January 1937 by eight public sector unions representing 38,000 workers. The two confederations merged in 1944, adopting the name TCO, bringing together 40 trade unions representing 180,000. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

membership in the affiliated unions grew rapidly to more than half a million by 1965.

Affiliates and membership

Union density The union density or union membership rate conveys the number of trade union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in a given industry or country. This is normally lower than collective agreement coverage rate, ...

in Sweden has been at one of the highest levels in the world, peaking around 85% in the mid-1980s, but since declining to around 70% in 2015. In general, the decline in union density in Sweden has been faster among

blue-collar worker A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

s and slower among

white-collar worker A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or other administrative setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, ...

s (TCO's base of membership). Between 1990 and 2015, the rate of unionisation of white-collar workers fell from 80.5% to 72%, but for blue-collar workers, the fall was from 82% to 63%. The Forest and Agricultural Service Union merged with Unionen on 1 June 2019.

TCO Certified

TCO owns the non-profit organisation TCO Development. TCO Development owns and develops the international sustainability certification TCO Certified. TCO Certified is a sustainability certification for IT products in offices and data centers worldwide. TCO Certified is available for office IT products: displays, notebooks, tablets, smartphones, desktops, all-in-one PCs, projectors, headsets, and data center products: network equipment, data storage products and servers. Certified products must meet comprehensive environmental and social criteria throughout the life cycle. For instance, factories where certified products are made must follow criteria on working hours, working environment and wages. Products must meet criteria for energy efficiency, ergonomic design and limited hazardous substance content.

Footnotes

External links

TCO product labeling

TCO's Eva Nordmark:Unions must be relevant to our time
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swedish Confederation Of Professional Employees Labour movement in Sweden International Trade Union Confederation European Trade Union Confederation Council of Nordic Trade Unions 1931 establishments in Sweden Trade unions established in 1931

History

Affiliates and membership

TCO Certified

See also

Footnotes

External links