Current projects
In this collaborative project, researchers from Finland, Norway, and Sweden will study practical recommendations and innovative solutions targeting work-related crime and improving workplace environments, with a special emphasis on combating labor exploitation.
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) is a triparty EU Agency that provides knowledge to assist in the development of better social, employment and work-related policies. The work is done with the assistance of national correspondents in the EU Member States, and the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion has granted Fafo the task as the national correspondent of Norway,
Hotels, restaurants and bars were hit hard by the corona pandemic. In this project, we will study the "rebuilding" of this industry, and its possible effects on working conditions. The results may also have more general relevance for the service industries in the private sector.
The primary aim is to study the reconfiguration of employers' production and staffing strategies within a global but regionally concentrated industry from a comparative perspective and to develop a conceptual understanding of how transnational shifts in production and staffing strategies are negotiated inside the EU/EEA. Secondary objectives include: 1) to investigate how national sectoral industrial relations systems influence and are influenced by such changes in transnational production and staffing strategies; 2) to trace how technological innovations influence employer strategies; 3) to assess how EU level Social Dialogue and re-regulations impact the relationship between production and staffing strategies in different corners of the Single Market.
Fafo publications
Articles and book chapters
Completed projects
Labour migrants are vulnerable in the limited and pressured Norwegian housing rental market. Rental prices have risen sharply, especially in the last two years. Around half of migrant workers from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania rent housing.
The Fafo working paper on "Union density among migrant workers" will be updated with the latest available figures, as well as figures for other immigrant groups. This will be used for the government's policy on integration, to be presented during the spring of 2024.
Only among 24 per cent of the labour immigrants in Norway are members of a trade union. In this project, we investigate why this is so. There is a need for more knowledge about how trade unions work to reach migrant workers and what experiences the organized migrant workers have had.
This project will firstly, identify best practices and, secondly, contribute to the effort to improve transnational cooperation on the enforcement of posted work. Moreover, it will bring important knowledge to the work of the European Labour Authority (ELA) in supporting national authorities when it comes to enforcement. Our consortium consists of Fafo and the Labour Inspectorates in Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Estland, Lithuania and Finland. During our activities, we will also engage national social partners. Our method is a mix of document analysis, interviews and workshops. Through seminars, we will disseminate knowledge about the main objectives of this project.
The project will provide figures for trade union density and collective agreement coverage among labour immigrants in Norway. The results will be presented according to industries and how long the workers have lived in Norway. The project includes both migrant workers from the EEA and third countries (countries outside the EEA).
In this project, Fafo summarizes the forms labour trafficking takes in Norway today, and what is known about the relationship between recruitment practices and forced labour and labour trafficking.
Fafo will conduct a survey among young people between 16 and 25 years of age. The goal is to gain knowledge about young people's ambitions and opinions. Topics are education, career choices, attitudes to the trade union movement and key political issues.
The Norwegian Directorate for Immigration (UDI) wants an analysis of how arrangements can be made for Norway to attract qualified labor from third countries (countries outside EU/EEA).
The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) has asked for an analysis of possible political trends up to 2035, and the consequences for public administration. One challenge in the years to come is how to maintain a sustainable welfare state.
We will conduct a nationwide survey among migrant workers from Poland and Lithuania, living in Norway.
In this research project, Fafo will contribute to the increased knowledge about the prevalence of and efforts against human trafficking for labour exploitation.
How can social sustainability be ensured throughout the value chain in Norwegian fishing-based fishing industry in Norway?
Worker protection regulation for posted workers in the EU is seriously inadequate.
In this project, we will study internal and external opportunities for exercising freedom of speech in Norwegian municipalities.
Fafo will carry out a new, wide survey on freedom of speech and whistle-blowing in Norwegian working life.
The aim of the project is to investigate how the municipalities work to combat labour market crime, and how their efforts can be strengthened. The core research questions will be what efforts the municipalities put in place, how they do it and which factors can explain variations in strategies, practices, experiences and results?