p a r t i v, c h a p t e r 8 198 working life looked now, as it was stated in the 1910 bill, the individual industrial workers were in an “especially dependent and inferior position in relation to the employer” when it came to determining working conditions.405 Thus, it was proposed that an individual work agreement would be invalid if either of the parties “made use of the other’s straits, thoughtlessness or rashness to that were obviously unreasonable”. It seems that the rule was intended to protect the worker since it resulted in the worker being able to receive, or “enjoy” (Sw. njuta) reasonable compensation for the work that was done.406 Its obvious model, in both form and content, was section (§) 138 of the general part of the BGB. In suitable parts, it would reoccur almost word for word as section (§) 31 of the 1915 Swedish Act on Contracts, which referred to property law agreements in general. Regarding the employer’s superior position, it seems that the proposed acts were aimed at maintaining the legal historical patriarchal tradition, but at the same time implementing certain restrictions and clarifications to the advantage of the employee. The rules on the employer’s right to issue plant regulations are one example.This was a very controversial question in the current discussion abroad. The 1910 Swedish bill stated, on the one hand, that since the main task of the plant regulations was to regulate workplace organisation, it was seen to be in “the nature of things” and in accordance with the employer’s right to direct the enterprise, that he should be allowed to issue plant regulations independent of what the parties had agreed upon. On the other hand, the proposal limited the employer’s right in that the workers would have the right to be informed and to express an opinion about the regulations before they went into force. Moreover, the government pointed out that even if no real right of co-determination could be given to the workers in this issue, the plant regulations 405 Prop. 1910:96, p. 70. 406 Prop. 1910:96, Förslag till lag om vissa arbetsaftal (Act on Individual Labour Agreements Bill), section 12, pp. 15-16.
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