Bargaining coverage in FinTech
In a new article in Economic and Industrial Democracy, Anna Ilsøe and international colleagues analyse the development towards collective agreements in the Fintech industry in Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands and Sweden. There have been breakthroughs with collective bargaining in Denmark and Sweden, while there are less collective bargaining in Estonia and the Netherlands.
A new article in the journal Economic and Industrial Democracy describes the development and barriers towards collective bargaining coverage in the FinTech industry in Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands and Sweden. The study shows that collective bargaining develops differently across countries. Common challenges include a strong entrepreneurial culture, a labour market characterised by high demand for specialised labour, limited interest in trade unions and uncertainty about whether the industry falls under finance or technology.
In Estonia, relations remain fragmented and characterized by neoliberal features, while the Netherlands has weak forms of employee involvement through, among other things, statutory works councils. Denmark and Sweden have taken steps towards collective agreements, but with different strategies: Denmark through cooperation, negotiation of collective agreements and establishment of a FinTech employers' association, Sweden through conflicts, fx with Klarna.
The results indicate that large FinTech companies are adapting to collective bargaining systems to a greater extent in order to gain legitimacy, and that this development may have an impact on how new technology-based sectors handle working conditions in the future.
Read the full article 'Uncharted territories: Exploring employment relations in the FinTech (sub)sector in Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands and Sweden' by Bengt Larsson, Bertil Rolandsson, Anna Ilsøe, Trine Pernille Larsen, Alex Lehr and Jaan Masso. Published in Economic and Industrial Democracy, August 2025.