Collective bargaining and union income insurance

Researchers who have studied social insurance systems have often pointed out the difficulty in studying the supplementary collective bargaining and union income insurance schemes, as there is a lack of complete and accessible information on how they have changed over time. This project therefore aims at mapping and describing how the conditions and benefits in collective bargaining and union income insurance for unemployment, illness, retirement, and parental leave have evolved from the 1980s until today. The project will result in both a new database on the conditions of each insurance scheme, which will contribute to further research in the field, and a reference work providing a relevant and detailed description of social insurance systems and the role and function of supplementary insurances over time.

The project involves extensive data collection on the collective agreements and sector-specific agreements that regulate the supplementary insurances. To collect the material, a reference group for data collection has been formed, consisting of prominent researchers and actors with connections to labour market parties and insurance companies. Furthermore, existing databases at IFAU will be used as a starting point in the data collection process, and we will gain access to data collected in specific projects through personal contacts.