Friday, July 11, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Zara employees are timed in the bathroom

Published 16 April 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Zara store in Gothenburg, Sweden.
2 minute read

Employees of clothing retailer Zara describe an extremely controlling work environment. Clocked bathroom visits, discrimination and a robotic existence are described as everyday life for employees of the clothing chain in Sweden.

– If we are in the bathroom for a long time, they follow us and check us, says a Zara employee.

In a report by Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet, 39 employees and former employees were interviewed about working conditions at Zara, which is part of the world’s largest clothing chain, Spain’s Inditex. Seven of them are currently employed, 12 worked there last year and 20 left in 2023.

A recurring criticism among those who have worked at the chain is its strict bathroom restrictions.

– If I was in the bathroom a minute too long, they would run up to me and say, ‘Why are you a minute late?’, says one employee.

They also reportedly kept a list of bathroom visitors and had to report bathroom visits to the cashier, where they were clocked and the time deducted from their break.

– They clock us, and if we are in the bathroom for a long time, they follow us and check. Then they stand outside and say, ‘You’ve been in the bathroom a lot, what’s going on?’, says another employee.

Life is also described as robotic and a “very toxic” place to work.

– You have to be like a puppet. You are not allowed to say what you think or feel. You are their slave, explains another former employee.

“More innocent than guilty”

Employees also testify to the systematic harassment of people with foreign backgrounds, calling them “those who steal and cause chaos” during meetings. Employees were ordered to carry a clothing alarm in their pockets, and if they saw a foreigner or someone else who was considered suspicious, they were to activate the alarm themselves to search the person.

– We were told to keep an eye out for people with immigrant backgrounds. I had to quit because I refused to carry the alarm in my pocket, says a former employee.

– You should have an alarm in your pocket. If you suspect someone, you have to wait until they come near the alarm. Then you have to activate the alarm. This was a daily occurrence. But there were more suspicions than attempted thefts. More innocent than guilty, explains a former security guard who worked for Zara.

“Zero tolerance”

But Zara insists it does not discriminate against customers or employees.

– We have a zero tolerance policy for any kind of discrimination or harassment.

There are 13 Zara stores and 445 employees in Sweden. Inditex is owned by 88-year-old Spaniard Amancio Ortega. He is said to be the twelfth richest person in the world with a fortune of SEK 1,100 billion.

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Sweden’s Christian Democrats call for tax relief for families with children

Published yesterday 7:08
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

Swedish families with children should receive tax relief, according to the same model as Hungary. This is proposed by Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch.

The catastrophically low birth rate has recently become a topic of discussion even among Swedish politicians. Childbirth in Sweden is at historically low levels. During 2023, an average of 1.43 children were born per woman – the lowest figure ever recorded. The standing solution advocated among Swedish politicians has been to bring foreigners to Sweden to replace the population.

The leader of the Christian Democrats Ebba Busch proposes on this theme to follow the Hungarian model, where families with children receive significant tax relief that increases for each child. The principle is to make it easier for one or later both parents to support themselves through work instead of benefits.

If current birth rate trends continue in Sweden, each new generation will be approximately 30 percent smaller than the previous one, which means major consequences including for the labor market and welfare system when fewer people of working age must support a growing elderly population.

 

Almost total halt for imported berry pickers in Sweden

Published 8 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

The Swedish Migration Agency has rejected almost all applications for berry pickers for 2025. As recently as 2023, 5,000 permits were granted.

Citing years of indications that employment conditions in the berry industry are not being upheld, the Migration Agency has granted only 89 permits for berry picking this year. A total of 2,397 applications for berry pickers have been received for 2025.

Last year, the Migration Agency rejected all applications for berry pickers, but 1,272 applications were subsequently approved after court review.

The Migration Agency has also this year assessed that workers in the berry industry risk not having their employment conditions met. Therefore, the agency has decided to reject most of the applications for Thai berry pickers, says Hanna Geurtsen, Deputy Project Manager for Work Permits at the Migration Agency, in a press release.

This year, the Migration Agency explains, all employers active in berry picking have chosen to apply for permits via the EU’s Seasonal Workers Directive. The difference when applying for a work permit as a seasonal worker, compared with the national main track for work permits, is among other things that the berry pickers this year are directly employed by a company in Sweden and not via a foreign staffing agency.

It’s partly about having an employment contract signed by both parties and that the employment conditions must be in line with Swedish collective agreements. For the majority of the applications received this year, these requirements have not been met, says Hanna Geurtsen.

The berry companies that have been rejected have the possibility to appeal these decisions in court, the agency adds in its press release.

Number of berry picking permits granted by the Migration Agency in recent years:

2025: 89
2024: 0 (1,272 were approved after court review)
2023: 5,372
2022: 6,594
2021: 5,175

Swedish government to map immigrants’ opinions

Published 7 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The Liberals' new integration minister Simona Mohamsson on the left, on the right migrants who have landed in Europe (archive image).
1 minute read

The Swedish government is now launching a project to examine immigrants’ opinions compared to native Swedes.

The results will serve as guidance for future integration efforts, says the Liberal Party’s new integration minister Simona Mohamsson about the project.

World Values Survey, WVS, is an international research program that examines people’s values in everything from social, political, economic, religious and cultural aspects.

The Swedish government is now paying WVS €450,000 to examine how values differ between non-Western immigrants and those with entirely Swedish backgrounds. During the autumn, around 3,000 people will be interviewed.

“We are an extreme country”

According to surveys that World Values Survey has previously conducted, the differences between immigrants and native Swedes are very large regarding views on things like divorce, premarital sex, abortion and homosexuality, where Sweden overall stands out as an exceptionally liberal-oriented country.

We are an extreme country in a good way. For people who become part of our society, it becomes somewhat difficult to navigate that map, says Mohamsson about the project to the Bonnier-owned newspaper DN, which among other things highlights that immigrants are more skeptical toward homosexual relationships.

There’s a whole generation of girls who don’t get to choose who they want to love or boys who can’t come out of the closet, she says.

Fewer shootings in Sweden — but bomb attacks have doubled

organized crime

Published 3 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to Swedish police, the purpose of the bomb attacks is often to extort, intimidate, or threaten the victims.
2 minute read

The number of shootings in Sweden has almost halved compared to last year – but at the same time, bombings have increased dramatically. According to new statistics from the Swedish Police Authority, over 100 bombing incidents have occurred so far this year, representing a doubling compared to the same period in 2024.

During the first six months of this year, police have recorded 84 shootings. This marks a significant decrease compared to the first half of 2022, when 205 shootings occurred, resulting in 34 deaths and 49 injuries. The number of people injured in shooting incidents has also gradually decreased since then. However, the 2025 statistics include the school attack in Örebro, central Sweden, where ten people lost their lives.

This development comes against the backdrop of Sweden’s long-standing struggles with organized crime, where violent gangs, often with immigrant backgrounds, have spread fear in both major cities and smaller towns. For several years, authorities have struggled to effectively address the escalating violence – but according to police, certain measures are now showing results.

– In both physical and digital environments, as well as in investigations, we are now faster and more efficient, which has enabled us to prevent impending crimes and increase the clearance rate of deadly gang-related violence from about 20-30 percent to about 60 percent in recent years. This partly explains why we’re seeing fewer shootings, says August Knutsson, operational coordinator at the Swedish Police’s National Operations Center.

More bombings during winter months

While shootings have decreased, another form of violence has increased significantly. So far this year, 104 explosions have occurred – double the number compared to the same period in 2024, when 52 bomb attacks were recorded.

– This is obviously serious, and we’ve noticed that criminal groups have shifted their methods and carried out more bombings during winter and spring. Often for extortion purposes, to intimidate or threaten. However, since the beginning of the year, when we saw a sharp increase in completed bombings, they have decreased. We’re arresting more perpetrators during the preparation stage than before, explains Knutsson.

He emphasizes that the situation is still considered very serious and that gang violence could soon escalate again:

– At the same time, the conflict level remains high, and we know from experience that the situation can change rapidly. We’re doing everything we can to keep violence levels down.

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