Saco - a federation for Sweden’s graduate professionals

1. Saco - a federation for Sweden’s graduate professionals

2. Consolidating strength for 22 independent unions

3. Saco'smembership trend

4. Saco's vision Saco works to benefit Sweden’s graduate professionals. Together, we work to benefit Sweden. Our vision is a society in which education, knowledge and expertise are rewarded, and where graduate professions are valued and respected. A society where there is no conflict between a professional career and good health and a balanced life.

5. 700 000 union members 22 unions withsecretariats Congress Student Council Board ChairpersonCommittee Secretariat A democratic organisation • 22.Forbund.Original

6. Saco unions and local associations • Education and profession are what unite members of the same union. • One single union throughout your career, from your studies until retirement. • Saco unions cooperate for all graduates in the workplace through Akademiker or Saco associations

7. Saco union membership • 105,000 students • 524,000 employed professionals • 225,000 private sector employees • 280,000 public sector employees • 140,000 managers • 40 entrepreneurs • 54% are women and 46% are men

8. Medlemsnyttan i fokus Professionalissues Inquiries and opinion building Union services

9. Inquiries and opinion building • Information gathering and well-founded, factual analysis • Starting and participating in debates, at seminars and via the media • Public consultations • Participation in inquiries, committees, and other joint bodies • Saco is politically independent

10. Key social policy issues for Saco • Education and research • Salary and lifetime earnings • Future model for parties in the labour market • The sustainable working life of the future

11. Education and research • All education must be high quality. • The state has overall responsibility for funding compulsory and upper-secondary education. • Quality must always be weighed against societal needs for more places on courses and programmes, and the funding per student must increase. • New tasks for higher education must be accompanied by increased resources. • There is a system for governance and resource allocation that rewards quality. • Access to careers and study guidance must improve. • Graduates must be able to develop and progress throughout their working lives. • Validating the qualifications of immigrant graduates must be simple.

12. Salary and lifetimeearnings • Higher education must be rewarded. • Tax reform with reduced tax on work must be implemented. • Pay gaps between men and women must be eliminated. • It must be possible to have a good salary progression, even in female-dominated professions. • Shared parental leave, leave to care for sick children and part-time work. • Pay must be set locally and individually. • The importance of collective agreements for pensions must be recognised.

13. Future model for parties in the labour market • Swedish labour market conditions must be set by the parties in the labour market. • The full potential of collective agreements and opportunities for adaptation must be recognised. • Membership of a Saco union must be relevant to graduates regardless of their form of employment.

14. The sustainable working life of the future • Proactive measures are prioritised in work on the work environment for to provide a long and sustainable working life and sustainable health. • Increase opportunities for skills development and career change for graduates throughout their working lives. • Conditions for a sustainable working life must be improved so that retirement age can be raised. • Accessibility in working life, as both opportunity and risk, must be highlighted in collective agreements and managed in the workplace. • Central legislation must be introduced to protect personal integrity in working life.

15. Tomorrow’sgraduateprofessionals • Saco Student, www.saco.se/student • Saco Student Fairs, www.saco.se/sacomassor • Saco study choice, www.saco.se/studieval • Future prospects, www.saco.se/framtid

16. Saco internationally • Many graduates study and work abroad, so Saco is active at Nordic, European and international levels. • Saco embraces international cooperation and the opportunities offered by globalisation.

17. Didyouknow...? • An association for young graduates in Sweden, SYACO, laid the foundation both for Saco and for the Swedish introduction of student finance (1943). • Saco coined the term lifetime earnings and presented the first lifetime earnings report in 1963. • Saco was the first union organisation to develop income insurance, together with Salus Ansvar (2000) • “Education should be rewarded” and “Choose your studies well” have been recurrent messages throughout Saco’s history. • The annual labour market forecast and the book Väljayrke [Choose your Career] have been around since 1959.

18. “Saco has been a central force in the development of Swedish society for over 70 years. Graduates have a particularly important role at a time when knowledge and research are being questioned and when fundamental democratic and human rights are being sidelined. We see a future in which graduates continue to contribute to increased equality, development and prosperity, one where Saco continues to work so that the expertise of graduates is fully respected and utilised." Göran Arrius, Saco Chairperson