Improving business conditions in complex markets

A partnership approach
Best Practices
Regional Hubs
About the program

Partner driven workplaces boosts productivity and rights

SWP exists because we believe that sustainable business starts with a partnership based on trust and respect between managers and employees. This is achieved through dialogue at the workplace. It creates the foundation for a more responsible business conduct and support the ongoing transition to a carbon free economy. 

Our Strategy for change:

1. Without Collaboration, skills, and access to Decent jobs, the Green Transition is at risk

A sustainable green transition relies on cooperation, equipping workers with new skills, and ensuring access to formal, decent employment to avoid conflicts and climate related migration  and hinder development.

Jobs are at the heart of development. In Africa alone, the workforce is expected to grow by 750 million people by 2050. To alleviate poverty it is essential to create jobs that are productive, decent, and formal so people have the opportunity to shape their life. Formal waged employment currently represents only one-third of jobs in developing countries. Poor people are often employed in the informal sector, in temporary jobs, or lack the ability to influence their working conditions, safety, and health. Decent work is a fundamental human right. Yet to many businesses and states fail to uphold ILO’s core conventions. Social dialogue is a cornerstone to achive decent work as it improves both business performance and workplace equity.

Trade and integration into global supply chains positively impact poverty reduction. It create jobs, especially for women and youth, drive formalization, better conditions, and more secure employment. Despite these benefits, significant challenges remain in achieving living wages, decent conditions, and ensuring rights are upheld.

Artisanal Miners in DRC. Photo: Nkelu Bantu

The demands on businesses to ensure sustainability in their operations are increasing. Companies are taking on sustainablity commitments in line with global political frameworks. Within social sustainability voluntary actions are increasingly being complemented by binding legislation. For European companies, this requires improving compliance with labor standards in their value chains, particularly among suppliers. Sustainability is also reflected in european trade agreements. Complying with ESG standards reduces risks and costs while enabling access to markets and global value chains. There is a risk of exclusion of companies in low- and middle-income countries from value-chains if they fail to meet these standards. 

As such, partnerships are needed to develop knowledge and understanding of sustianblity requirements. Organizational culture also needs to adapt, and capacity must be strengthened to maintain opportunities for investment and integration into global value chains.

The ongoing green transition brings specific demands for the future of work. To fully harness the benefits of green solutions, new skills and competencies will be needed as old jobs disappear. A transition without the engagement of all stakeholders risks hindering development, negatively affecting climate goals, job creation, and creating labor market conflicts. Ensuring sustainability competency in value chains, particularly upstream, can mitigate these risks. This requires a shared investment by states, companies, and workers in upskilling. Social dialogue and collaboration is both a goal and an means towards this end.

Cooperation enables individuals to contribute to developing both businesses and their own conditions. It leads to better productivity, engaged and well-being-focused employees, and drives innovation. Through dialogue, both parties gain better information and opportunities for negotiations, conflict resolution, which reduces risks and improves compliance with laws, guidelines, and policies. Dialogue also enhances access to grievance mechanisms and remedies.

An effective social dialogue must be built on trust and respect. This is created when partners have the ability, willingness, and spaces to develop partnerships, joint goals, and solutions. Based on this, SWP has developed the following strategies:

2. How we create better conditions for dialogue and cooperation

Growth Engines

We upskill the capacity of managers and employees to engage in effective dialogue, and establish structures for effective collaboration at workplaces.

 

  • Establish Workplace Committees
  • Upskill managers and employees
  • Use the leverage of Swedish companies and Unions for Knowledge
Shape Business Conduct

SWP partners with Swedish companies, trade unions, and business to influence policy and integration of social dialogue into local value chains.

 

  • Provide Meaningful Stakeholder DialogUES
  • Shape agendas on dialogue and decent work.
  • Strengthen Swedish companies as champions
Scale Best Practices

SWP spreads models and lessons learned to a broader group of stakeholders—businesses, governments, and industry associations—to drive systemic improvements in labor relations, policies, and business environments.

  • Spreading and institutionalizing good practices
  • Supporting Team Sweden and Swedish Industry on Decent Work

The results we aim for

By empowering workers, influencing business practices, and scale best practices, SWP contributes to more secure jobs, better working conditions, and increased opportunities for people to shape their lives. 

3. Our Impact:

Better work conditions

Strengthened trust and capacity enable dialogue-driven structures, leading to improved relations between managers and employees for safer, better and more productive workplaces.

Better Access to global supply-chains

Alignment with global Sustainability Standards. Companies and organizations are equiped to meet international sustainability and human rights due diligence requirements, making them better positioned to access international value chains.

Implementation of the Decent Work Agenda

SWP contributes to the achievement of the Decent Work agenda. Improved workplace cooperation that reduce risks. Successful practices are replicated across industries and regions, also influencing policy and improving labor relations at a national level.

“Sida aims to ensure that people living in poverty have access to decent jobs, where their rights in the workplace are respected. The Swedish Workplace Programme
contributes to this goal by improving dialogue between employers and employees and strengthening labour rights.
Follow-up of the Programme confirms that it brings important change, for example in terms of better working hours, safety andsecurity at the workplace.”

True Schedvin
Head of Unit for Global Sustainable Economic Development at Sida

Factors for success

Why our partners take interest in SWP

  • Partners view SWP as a neutral third-party actor with strong legitimacy and expertise to facilitate discussions on sustainability and dialogue.
  • This gives us a unique role in addressing difficult and sensitive matters with various stakeholders as we represent and incorporate both the employee and employer perspective.
  • Companies and investors have a vested interest and a duty to respect and uphold decent work as part of human rights frameworks like OECD guidelines, ILO core conventions .

We apply common values to local problems

  • SWP is adaptable and provides tailored coaching to each workplace based on its unique conditions, thereby fostering sustainable change at the workplace level.
  • We design our programmes togther with our local partners to make ownership local.

Focus on results that lasts

  • Dialogue structures that have been integrated into the company organigram and assigned own budgets continue to be successful after SWP exit.
  • When managers and employees become aware of the benefits of workplace dialogue. Companies find new ways to productivity and well-being.​

Team Sweden

Team Sweden is a network of government authorities, agencies and Swedish companies that support major infrastructure projects globally, with the aim to contribute to the development of sustainable projects. 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This executive summary presents the findings from the study “Workplace Cooperation: Finding Practical Solutions in the Colombian Context,” conducted by the Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP). The study evaluates the added value of the Swedish Workplace Programme (SWP) dialogue and cooperation model within the Colombian labor market.

Throughout 2022, FIP dedicated efforts to thoroughly understand the SWP model, including its concept, foundations, implementation process, and contributions to the labor market. In 2023, FIP documented the experiences of three companies—SKF Latin Trade, Securitas, and Epiroc—that implemented the SWP model in practice. The study also included face-to-face workshops to gather feedback from various stakeholders including civil society, businesses, government, academia, and international cooperation. The findings suggest that the SWP model has the potential to strengthen labor relations, contribute to decent work, and resolve workplace conflicts in Colombia.

The case studies highlight the importance of collaboration between employers and workers to promote decent work and sustainable development in Colombia. They demonstrate that social dialogue facilitates worker participation in labor decision-making, enhances their representativeness, and promotes cooperation between employers and employees, thus improving labor relations and contributing to the well-being of both employees and companies.

The SWP model is particularly noted for improving workplace relationships and commitment to jointly finding solutions to challenges faced by workers and the company. It empowers workers, enhances leadership, and helps integrate business policies into daily practices, reducing the initial disconnect between management objectives and the day-to-day realities of workers. The study also highlights the model’s capacity to manage conflicts constructively, transforming the perception of conflict as an opportunity for improvement. Structured dialogues deepen understanding of the underlying causes of conflicts, fostering empathy and facilitating effective resolution. This promotes a culture of collaboration and a democratic approach to decision-making, building trust.

Additionally, the model is recognized for enabling workers to make decisions, identify challenges, and propose solutions that impact their well-being, and bridging gender gaps in the workplace. Its inclusive approach adapts to the unique needs and characteristics of each company, promoting a stronger and more diverse organizational culture. It also drives good work performance and productivity by involving workers in problem identification and resolution, as well as in implementing improvements and efficiently identifying ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) risks for companies.

The document identifies the SWP model’s added value in empowering direct interaction among labor stakeholders in Colombia, overcoming historical or cultural reservations, and contributing to the development of stronger labor relations and improved workplace environments in the country.

Challenges and opportunities of the model are also discussed. The study points out the importance of addressing value chain risks, particularly in a global context where corporate clients demand decent work processes and due diligence. It emphasizes the need to integrate SMEs into this process and use anchor companies as drivers of social dialogue throughout the value chain. The role of the state in social dialogue and the importance of highlighting the benefits of the model for adoption across various business sectors are discussed.

The opportunities of the model include raising awareness of human rights in the workplace in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP), to strengthen due diligence, manage risks, promote long-term sustainability, and improve organizational culture. The document also underscores the importance of involving workers in change processes, leveraging their insights for continuous improvement of processes, and fostering innovation opportunities. Lastly, it suggests replicating the model in value chains to address work environment risks and gender biases, involving suppliers and contractors, and integrating the model into corporate policies to strengthen existing programs and transform organizational culture towards resource efficiency and effective participation of employers and workers.