In his address on fair working conditions to the UN Economic & Social Council on Monday, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven stressed the universal right to go on strike and launched the idea of a new ‘Global Deal’ involving companies, employers and workers to attain gender equality and improved labour rights and better working conditions for vulnerable workers. He also highlighted the fact that 2 million people die at their workplaces all over the world every year, and reminded his audience of the collapsed factory building in Bangladesh in 2013 when 1,129 textile workers died, adding that Sweden was no exception when it comes to workplace deaths.
In his address Löfven also emphasised policy areas that the Swedish government has outlined as priorities in its candidacy for a seat to the UN Security Council; i.e. feminism, human rights and sustainability, and which coincide with the UN’s new sustainable development goals. The PM said in his address: “… true globalisation builds on the realisation that we share one planet, we share a global economy and increasingly we also share a global labour market, and for this we must begin to take joint responsibility.”
Afterwards the PM had the opportunity to mingle with some 90 UN ambassadors and other senior UN directors before heading to Washington DC this morning.