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The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report as well as the observations of the Swedish Employers' Confederation (SAF) and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO). It also takes note of the oral information supplied by the Government to the Conference Committee in June 1993 and the discussion which took place there in relation to the comments presented by the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO) concerning the 1990 amendments to the National Insurance Act and the 1991 Sick Pay Act.

The Committee notes that in reply to the TCO's comments that the legislation violated the right to conclude collective agreements concerning sick pay, the Government states that it has appointed a drafting committee to propose a new system of statutory insurance benefits in connection with illness and work injury, whereby insurance expenditure will not be included in the national budget. Among other things, the remit lays down that the recommendations put forward must conform with Sweden's commitments under international Conventions.

The Committee takes note of this information and recalls that it considers, like the Conference Committee, that the principle of autonomy of the parties involved in collective bargaining is important and that the public authorities in general should respect this autonomy and abstain from any intervention. It further considers that the Government should try to persuade the social partners to have regard voluntarily to major economic and social policy considerations and the general interest invoked by the Government, since persuasion is always preferable to any imposition.

The Committee expresses the hope that the recommendations of the drafting committee in respect of the new system of statutory insurance benefits will be in line with the above-mentioned principles and requests the Government, in its next report, to provide information thereon.