Co-determination in the workplace (MBL)

MBL is the Swedish abbreviation used for the Co-determination in the Workplace Act (Lag om medbestämmande i arbetslivet). The co-determination act is a labour legislation that regulates the relationship between employees, trade unions and the employer.

MBL describes how negotiations are to be conducted, the rules that apply to collective agreements, the relationship between organisations and its members, rules for regarding so-called industrial peace, freedom of association and arbitration. Through a set of regulations governing negotiation, trade unions are put on equal footing with the employer. This means, practically, that the trade unions are to continuously receive information and be consulted prior to important decisions being taken.