Founded 1906 Affiliation LO | Members 145,000 | |
Full name Swedish Commercial Employees' Union Native name Handelsanställdas Förbund Key people Lars-Anders Häggström, president | ||
Handels, a shortened version of the name Handelsanställdas Förbund (Commercial Employees' Union), is Sweden's third-largest blue-collar union, with some 145,000 members, of whom around 25,000 are retired. Women make up over 70 percent of its membership.
Although the union was founded in 1906, it is in many ways a young organization. A third of its members are under the age of 30; almost half are under the age of 35.
The union is active in more than 25,000 different workplaces and represents a wide range of groups and industries. The majority of its members are in the retail sector, but it also organizes groups such as florists, hairdressers, storage and warehouse personnel, opticians, watchmakers, office staff and students in vocational training.
Handels negotiates agreements for fair pay and better working conditions. Pay is a major trade union issue, and Handels' ambition is to ensure the introduction of salary structures that are clearly linked to the conditions and work at each workplace. The union's aim is fair pay, and a key objective is the eradication of differences between men’s and women’s salaries.
Handels in affiliated with the Swedish Trade Union Confederation.