In this article, we aim to explore the contours of how we might interrogate Swedish labour lawand practice from a socially oriented sustainability perspective, drawing on the distinctive findings of ourproject ‘An inclusive and sustainable Swedish labour law – the ways ahead’ and on other aspects of theSwedish labour law model that we consider are particularly relevant for a sustainability analysis. In sodoing, we have identified potentially five dimensions to the use of a ‘sustainability’ discourse as a basis forevaluation of regulatory measures suitable for the Swedish labour market. It emerges that the central dominant system of collective bargaining has the potential to promote durability and inter- and intra-generational justice, including just transitions in the labour market. However, its capacity to promote capabilities and equality depends on how inclusive and adaptable collective bargaining systems are, with attentionto who is being represented and in what sectors.

Att konkurrensen om de offentliga kontrakten medför en ökande press på arbets- och anställningsvillkor har länge stått klart – ibland till den grad att man kan tala om social dumpning. Med 2014 års nya upphandlingsdirektiv har även EU:s lagstiftare erkänt detta faktum och infört en skyldighet for medlemsstaterna att säkerställa att leverantörerna uppfyller de arbetsrättsliga skyldigheter som följer av lag, kollektivavtal och vissa internationella konventioner.

Samtidigt måste det göras med respekt för de EU-rättsliga principerna om likabehandling, proportionalitet och transparens (öppenhet). De nordiska länderna har valt helt olika sätt att lösa denna komplicerade ekvation – från Danmarks till synes sorglösa inställning till kravet på transparens, till svenskarnas våndor över hur man ska få kollektivavtalssystemet och EU-rätten att passa ihop. I det följande granskar vi vad dessa krav innebär och hur de nordiska länderna försöker tillgodose dem i sina lagar om upphandling.

The austerity policy within the European Union during the economic and financial crisis has marked a fundamental shift regarding EU´s basic policy considerations for gender equality and collective bargaining. In case of gender equality, the shift has not been explicit, but rather emerged as an indirect result of a seemingly gender neutral approach to the economic problems. The situation is rather different regarding collective bargaining, where the starting point for the austerity policy has been that institutions and mechanisms for sectoral collective bargaining constitute obstacles to necessary structural reforms. Several crisis measures have been found to violate basic international human rights instruments (adopted within ILO, UN and the European Council), while Member States to the European Union are still bound by their international human rights obligations when implementing those measures. There are also reasons to expect that the EU institutions which are parties to the Troika should respect these obligations when designing crisis measures for individual Member States. The author argues that in the future we need better coordination between gender equality and social policy goals on one hand and economic crisis policy on the other. Otherwise the human rights policy of the European Union will lose its credibility, which may undermine public support and legitimacy for the European project in many Member States.