I was actually surprised to read that the Swedish CEO "took a dab at unions". Sure, relationships with unions can be complicated, but I've never heard an employer talk negatively about them here (maybe I'm just sheltered?). I am used to seeing union reps come to the office a few times a year for Q&As and feedback sessions, and taking about union membership was normal in internal channels. Never heard of anyone in leadership batting an eye (heck, they were likely also union members). Being hostile to unions seems like a normal thing for some other parts of the world, but seeing a Swedish employer talk like this about union membership here immediately leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the company. It's a red flag.
Unfortunately it can take a while for employees who have relocated to Sweden to consider joining a union. It took me about a year or two after moving here to realize it was a thing, and such a normal thing at that. I can imagine that Unionen et al would have gotten more than a few phone calls from Klarna employees asking for advice during/after this whole thing.
> I was actually surprised to read that the Swedish CEO "took a dab at unions"
My impression is that he wants to be like the cool kids on the other side of the Atlantic. Meanwhile the Engineering union and Bankers guild are suing Klarna for the way the layoffs are being done. Maybe they are pissed. Dunno.
>Being hostile to unions seems like a normal thing for some other parts of the world, but seeing a Swedish employer talk like this about union membership here immediately leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the company. It's a red flag.
is the reason for this:
>I was actually surprised to read that the Swedish CEO "took a dab at unions". Sure, relationships with unions can be complicated, but I've never heard an employer talk negatively about them here (maybe I'm just sheltered?).
Could you please clarify your point? I presented the first two sentences you quoted as an elaboration on why the Swedish CEO taking a dab at unions was surprising to me, so yes it is indeed a reason. I have a feeling that's not what you meant though?
My point is that that negative opinion is the reason why they don't speak their mind honestly.
No point speaking honestly in an environment where they can be punished for doing so, either socially, or legally, particularly when speaking provides them no benefits.
At least in Finland the tech unions are mostly toothless. They might help you with a lawyer if it is certain that employer screwed up. And any actions taken are very light, in lines of we recommend you not to work overtime... And maybe day or two of walking out... And then finally capitulate for minimal pay increase...
Swedish unions aren't perfect for sure, but so far I've only had positive experiences myself. I've luckily never had an actual conflict at work to bring my union in over though, so the extent of my experience has been calling them for general advice and getting an extra week of vacation as part of a collective agreement. I've also heard a few stories of coworkers bringing in union reps when they felt they were being pushed out on unfair terms and negotiating much better severance packages.
From my experience, it's not very common in tech companies in Sweden. They often lack collective agreements and in the last company I worked at I never heard anyone talk about it or say they were a member.
The only companies I've worked for in Sweden have been tech companies, and union membership was very common. At EA we had a collective agreement, along with some other larger games companies here iirc. Many people are members but don't mention it unless it gets specifically brought up since it's such a non-event.
Edit: Was curious to find some numbers about this. I don't read Swedish fluently yet so having to use Google Translate, but one report I found from 2020 says that "Information and communication" (which I suspect IT/software engineering might fall into) has 69% membership [0]. It seems to say white collar workers actually have a higher membership rate than others at >70% overall; will look some more and add any other numbers I can find.
The gaming industry is notorious for not having collective agreements (as per the article, only 1% of the companies has it). So I'm not sure your experience is representative.
Having a collective agreement is not a prerequisite for being a union member. It is common to be part of a union even if the company does not have a collective agreement (such as the games company I worked for after EA; no collective agreement, but still plenty of union members).
Unfortunately it can take a while for employees who have relocated to Sweden to consider joining a union. It took me about a year or two after moving here to realize it was a thing, and such a normal thing at that. I can imagine that Unionen et al would have gotten more than a few phone calls from Klarna employees asking for advice during/after this whole thing.