Unprofitable enterprises in the market were to be pushed toward what was known as the solidarity wage policy, with rising wages in line with productivity growth. Wages falling behind productivity growth creates negative wage compression, while holding wages in line with productivity allows no wage compression or expansion. This was expected to force firms to improve their productive capacity in order to improve profitability, through measures such as structural adjustment as well as robotisation and automation of production, and through more indirect means such as improved working conditions meant to decrease rates of sick-leave and increase productivity. Rehn argued for mobility-enhancing labor-market policies, including high unemployment benefits, based on a notion of "security by wings" rather than "security under shells." This aimed to make workers less dependent on a specific job, such that they would find new jobs as structural changes caused by productivity growth reduced the need for workers in existing jobs. Rehn also recognized that high unemployment benefits may lead to longer job search periods, suggesting this would lead to more efficient labor markets by matching workers with jobs better fitting their skills and abilities; modern research has found evidence of this improved matching effect.
