🇸🇪 BodenNXT: Historic agreement for a safer workplace
H2 Green Steel and Byggnads Norrbotten have signed a unique agreement to improve working conditions at the steel plant project in Boden The union now hopes that more companies will follow the steel company’s lead.
H2 Green Steel has entered into a cooperation agreement with the union Byggnads Norrbotten. The agreement is a central part of H2 Green Steel’s ten-point program aimed at ensuring high-quality working conditions and combating workplace crime at the construction of their new steel plant in Boden.
– We are not just going to produce a sustainable product but also build something sustainable and do it in a way that is good for the people involved in building it,” says Mikael Lindström, Public Affairs Director at H2 Green Steel.
Three C’s at the centre
The agreement includes access to H2 Green Steel’s electronic staff ledger, regular follow-up of collective agreements, and a trade union office at the construction site. These measures are complemented by a systematic approach focusing on the three Cs: Command, Control and Consequences.
– It feels great. We have been working on this for two years. For us, this is an important part to be able to carry out the construction in a safe and sustainable way,” says Mikael Lindström.
H2 Green Steel’s ten-point program includes requirements for Swedish collective agreements, a limitation on the number of subcontracting levels, ID checks, company checks, and close cooperation with relevant authorities. The program is designed to strengthen both working conditions and competitiveness in the industry, while also making the sector more attractive to workers.
Historic agreement
Joakim Lindholm, chairman of Byggnads Norrbotten, emphasizes the importance of the collaboration:
– This is a historic agreement that is based on the Swedish model of collective bargaining and gives us a greater opportunity to handle union matters against companies. . We look forward to more industry players following this example,” he says.
H2 Green Steel, founded in 2020, is a pioneering company focused on decarbonizing the steel industry through the use of green hydrogen. With its headquarters in Stockholm and a first plant under development in Boden, the company represents a new era in sustainable industrial production.
H2 Green Steel’s ten-point program
1) Requires Swedish collective agreements or another special agreement with a Swedish trade union. This is the best possible guarantee that personnel at constructions will have reasonable working conditions, receive correct wages, and have a safe work environment.
2) Sign a special cooperation agreement with Byggnads Norrbotten so that they can carry out their work in the best possible way and also help H2 Green Steel’s suppliers to do the right thing. It must be easy to do the right thing. This cooperation agreement includes
- Access to H2 Green Steel’s electronic staff register.
- Company controls.
- Byggnads is the contact point for the contractors with all the LO unions in Norrbotten.
- Advice and support for entrepreneurs coming to H2 Green Steel.
- Participation in workplace safety rounds.
- Monitoring of compliance with collective agreements and control of companies involved in H2 Green Steel’s contracting chain.
3) Local for the unions at H2 Green Steel’s construction site. There, Byggnads and all other trade unions with members on the site will be able to meet members and do their work.
4) Regular collaboration with Byggnads Norrbotten and all other trade unions. Collaboration has already started with a first workshop as a kick-off.
5) The number of subcontractor levels is limited to two under each main contractor to increase the possibility of control, but also provide sufficient flexibility for H2 Green Steel’s contractors to succeed in their task. H2 Green Steel is the developer.
6) Everyone on the construction site must have an ID06 card, which is linked to an electronic personnel ledger. ID06 is the construction company’s card and associated system for ensuring that the right people are at the workplace and have undergone the right safety training.
7) Checks of identity documents and on-site identity checks to ensure that the right people are present, that they have the right to work in Sweden and that they are in the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s posting register. For this, external help from a company that is now also opening offices in central Boden to assist with this and issue ID06 cards has been brought in, which not only assists H2 Green Steel but also other companies in the region.
8) Company controls of the companies that perform work for H2 Green Steel, both before the contract is signed and continuously during the contract period. For example, everyone must have an F-tax certificate.
9) Ongoing collaboration with all relevant authorities involved in both prevention and investigation of this type of activity. Both the previous and current governments have given clear mandates to combat employment crime in a number of problematic sectors, of which the construction sector is one.
10) The company establishes a designated function and person at the construction site who is responsible for handling these issues and is the contact for the trade unions.
Originally published on 2 February by BodenNXT.
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