“Like a Swede” is an initiative from TCO aiming to get Swedes to learn more about the unique model which distinguishes Sweden from almost every other country in the world.

Most Swedes live with the belief that the state regulates the labour market and see trade unions as an insurance policy in the workplace, but it is actually trade unions and employers’ organisations that negotiate the conditions of the labour market. The state has handed over the responsibility to the two parties best suited to address the issues.

The model is called the Swedish Part Model, and the results of the negotiations are the collective agreements, which include agreements on salaries, pension, insurance, annual leave days, parental leave and much more.

These things are easily taken for granted in Sweden. That’s why TCO created “Like a Swede”: to show how everyone with collective agreements in Sweden can enjoy the same benefits that are usually only available to the very richest in other countries.