Last weekend we visited our Swedish sister union SAC for a meeting on radical unionism in the Nordic countries. Comrades from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark participated.
It was interesting to see the different ways radical unionists fight for change in the labour movement. The SAC is a registered union, our Finish and Norwegian comrades are active in traditional trade unions and our Danish comrade is like us from the IWW. We had open discussions about the pros and cons of each approach, without judging any one to be better or worse.
Another big part of the weekend was the topic of organising migrant workers (or rather migrant workers organising). We exchanged experiences with a Polish labour organiser, organising migrant workers in the construction industry. We met the Spanish speaking section of the Stockholm local of the SAC and had an online meeting with a worker who just formed the International Workers Union Finland.
During these discussions we found migrant workers experiences in the Nordic countries are similar. We are more likely than the locals to experience our rights being violated and we are often ignored by the traditional labour unions.
For those interested, here is an article in Swedish about the meeting (paywall): https://www.arbetaren.se/2025/04/09/migrantorganisering-i-fokus-nar-fackliga-aktivister-fran-norden-mottes/
We brought back inspiring material and contacts all over the Nordic countries. We are hoping to keep this free exchange of ideas going in the future!
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