ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how different kinds of power resources have left their mark on the struggle over establishing or avoiding wage floors in sectors affected by different kinds of external pressures due to migration. The Scandinavian countries have a long tradition of setting wage floors through autonomous collective agreements. With high levels of collective bargaining coverage, the collectively agreed wages have acted as an effective substitute for statutory minimum wages. An increase of cross-border provision of services since European Union-enlargement has also contributed to the intensified low-wage competition in the sector. Sweden has the best prerequisites for establishing and upholding collectively agreed wage floors. In the aftermath of the Laval case, the Swedes were forced to alter the system for governing the wage and working conditions of posted workers. The inflow of labour migrants and posted workers from low-cost countries in the east, quite quickly became a challenge for the Norwegian construction industry.
