The government and the Sweden Democrats are moving ahead with limiting labor immigration, including by raising the wage level. It is now receiving strong criticism from the Industrial Employers, who believe that it is a blow to Swedish industry. According to Per Hidesten, CEO of Industriarbetsgivarna, the proposal will make the green transition more difficult and have consequences for the industry, above all in northern Sweden, where there is a huge need for skills.
– In that equation, labor immigration must enter, it is a matter of destiny. If you don’t have the skills, you can’t make the investments, says Hidesten.
The government: Faces wage demands
At a press conference on Friday, the government and SD announced that the requirements for labor immigration should be tightened. Certain professional groups can now be completely excluded from working in Sweden. But for some of the shortfalls, there may be exceptions to the salary requirement of around SEK 33,000.
– It is completely unreasonable that people can come from the other side of the world for SEK 13,000 a month. We want to promote highly qualified labor immigration, said Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) at the press conference.
According to Per Hidesten, it is an intervention on the Swedish model when politicians talk about salary limits.
– Where the parties in the labor market negotiate the terms, that is not something a politician should deal with, he says.
See more about the criticism in the player above