Keen to understand more about the occurrences of fatal accidents in Swedish workplaces, Johan Pehrson, Minister for Employment and Integration, and Paulina Brandberg, Minister for Gender Equality and Deputy Minister for Employment, visited ICMIF member Afa Försäkring on 18 April 2024 with the aim of finding out more about its prevention work to help people in their everyday working life. During the visit, Afa Försäkring presented its prevention work activities.

“The Government is working on a broad front to create a better working environment for everyone in Sweden. No one should have to die at work and no one should have to die because of their work. Prevention work is incredibly important,” said Paulina Brandberg, Minister for Gender Equality and Deputy Minister for Employment.

Prevention work for the benefit of working life

“It feels important that the Ministry of Employment has the opportunity to take part in our work. Our mission from the social partners* is to work for a healthy and safe working life. We invest SEK 350 million per year in preventive measures to prevent occupational injuries and ill health in working life,” says Susanna Stymne Airey, Head of Afa Försäkring’s prevention operations.

“The Government is now intensifying its efforts to create safer workplaces throughout the country in several areas. Research, the dissemination of knowledge and the development of more effective methods are of great importance if we are to be able to make workplaces safer,” says Johan Pehrson, Minister for Employment and Integration.

Afa Försäkring was founded in 1962 and since then it has worked for a safer working life. The company insures nine out of 10 employees. It manages capital to secure future remuneration and it works to prevent ill health in the workplace. Afa Försäkring’s funding of research in the work environment and health of SEK 150 million per year constitutes a large part of the prevention work that the company does.

“In addition to research funding, we also offer financial rehabilitation support that employers can apply for. Through our web-based IA system, we support workplaces in their ongoing systematic work environment management. Today, we have 4,600 organisations with almost 1.7 million employees in some 40 industries that use the IA system,” says Susanna Stymne Airey.

“From our injury database of over 16 million cases, we collect statistics that are used for prevention purposes, including as a basis for decision-making for the research projects we fund. Through collaboration with Prevent and Suntarbetsliv, the research we fund will be of practical use in working life,” she concluded.

Concrete tools for workplaces for a safer work environment

Also present at the meeting was non-profit organisation Prevent which also does a lot of work in the field of prevention. Prevent works by offering everything from training, webinars, checklists, various types of support for risk assessments and more for the workplace. Afa Försäkring collaborates with both Prevent and another non-profit Suntarbetsliv, to contribute to practical use of knowledge about the work environment and health in the workplace. Maria Schönefeld, CEO of Prevent, explained how they convey knowledge that helps companies improve the work environment.

“Our mission is to make it easier for workplaces to create a good work environment by informing, educating and developing useful products that are helpful in work environment management. We are a non-profit organisation that is also owned by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Swedish Council for Negotiation and Negotiation (PTK). This means that everything we do is developed by trade unions and employers together,” says Maria Schönefeld, CEO of Prevent.

Photo shows, from left: Susanna Stymne Airey, Head of Afa Försäkring ‘s Preventive Operations, Johan Pehrson, Minister for Employment and Integration, Maria Schönefeld, CEO of Prevent, Paulina Brandberg, Minister for Gender Equality and Deputy Minister for Employment. Photo courtesy of: Linda Harling, Afa Försäkring

* Afa Försäkring is part of a collective agreement is owned by social partners – employers’ organisations and trade unions – who together try to agree on the rules of the game in the labour market. The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Swedish Council for Negotiation and Negotiation (PTK) jointly own Afa Försäkring. Together, they agree on the terms and conditions that will apply to the various insurances that people have through their employment. The terms and conditions of the insurance are the result of negotiations between the parties.