AFS 2015:4 – möjligheter och begränsningar i regionala fackliga ombudsmäns arbete med organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö - en jämföresle mellan två fackförbund

The Swedish labour market has gone through some drastic changes the last couple of decades. New working conditions and new types of professions have appeared, which puts a lot of pressure on the occupational safety and health. The purpose of this study is to look into how the union representatives, at a regional level, work with organizational and social work environment. The study examines the new regulation AFS 2015:4 Organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö (organizational and social work environment) and what opportunities and limitations it can offer to the union representatives for their influence in questions regarding occupational safety and health. We also look to compare and contrast the differences between the public and private sector in terms of the conditions of work environment. Previous research in the field of this study is very limited since the regulation AFS 2015:4 is almost brand new. Therefore we started with examining how previous regulations such as SAM 2001:1 Systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete (systematic work environment) has been received by the parties in the Swedish labour market. The complexity of the work environment has also been accounted for in the section of previous research. The theoretical framework used in this study builds on institutional theory, institutional work, the travel of ideas and the dichotomy stability and change. The study has a qualitative approach based on eleven semi-structured interviews with union representatives operating on a regional level. Five of the respondents work against the public sector (organization A) and six operates in the private sector (organization B). The results of the study indicate that there are differences between sectors in how the union representatives at a regional level work with organizational and social work environment. The organizational stability and structure differs between the public and private sector, which affect the union representatives influence in the labour market regarding the occupational safety and health. The union representatives in both sectors feel that organizational and social work environment is a very complex phenomenon to work with. Nevertheless they feel that the new regulation AFS 2015:4 facilitates and increases their influence towards the employers in the labour market