c o n t i n u i t y a n d c o n t r ac t 183 The most controversial change of the general Penal Code was the so-called Åkarp Act (Sw. Åkarpslagen) of 1899, which provided hard labour even for attempts either by threats or by violence to force anyone to interrupt work.379 The act increased the possibility to put striking workers into custody, which was aimed at having a cooling effect on their fighting spirit. In the political debate, the Swedish unions were met with considerable sympathy among social liberals, while conservatives as well as extreme liberals were resistant, at least initially. At the direction of the government, drafts were drawn up in 1900 and1901 concerning regulation of the contract of employment (Sw. arbetsavtalslagstiftning).The drafts were aimed at modernising the statutes on the master-servant relationship (from 1833) and on freedom of trade (1864) as well as creating a new legislative framework for different categories of “free contracts of service”. The preparatory works of the draft of 1900emphasised that the master-servant contract was applicable to the area of productive activities, the agrarian sector and possibly to some industries. Even if it did not disqualify work from the master-servant concept if the tasks were to some extent specialised, they had to be simple, which excluded all kinds of technical work, and of course labour performed by physicians, engineers and teachers. Thus the draft of 1900 in its essential parts followed the century-old Swedish tradition. It concerned states of long standing and aimed at maintaining the “patriarchal-ethical” relationship which the drafters held should prevail between master and servant. The latter was obliged to ask for his master’s permission if he or she wanted to leave the house or stay the night somewhere else. If the master moved to another place in Sweden, the servant had to follow him. The master could dismiss the servant if he considered him or her to be lazy or living disorderly outside the work itself. 379 SFS 1899:55. See also SFS 1897:37, 38.
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