The union helpline in 2007

6.300 people contacted the union helpline in 2007
Pay issues were the most common issues in the questions regarding conditions in the labour market that the LO telephone helpline replied to during 2007. Four out of 10 questions put to the helpline dealt with pay conditions. Out of those young people who contacted the helpline regarding pay issues, 9 per cent of the young women and 7 per cent of the young men had not received any salary. This is one of the facts appearing from a report about the activities of the LO telephone helpline in 2007.

For the 13th year in succession, LO carried out in 2007 the project ‘Facket i sommarland’ (trade union assistance for young people in seasonal employment), the purpose of which is to inform young people about their rights in the labour market. From early May to late August 2007, the telephone helpline had extra resources to reply to questions from students with summer jobs.

- Most employers are honest and offer fair conditions but there are too many unscrupulous employers who don’t hesitate to exploit young people who have an extra job. During the summer months, most of the calls we receive are from young people who work during parts of their summer holidays. Many of them don’t have any work experience and they are unaware of their rights, according to Markus Kristiansson, youth officer at the LO.

Most young people who contacted the helpline last year, nearly 30 per cent, worked in the hotel and restaurant sector. The next biggest sectors were trade (24 per cent of the questions) and the municipal sector (12 per cent of the questions).

Also questions about rules on working hours, terms of notice and certificate of employment were quite common. One out of four among those who requested information on terms of notice had been forced to leave their jobs. Nearly 50 per cent of the young women and a third of the young men, who contacted the helpline regarding a certificate of employment, had been denied to get one.