Social Services, Collective Bargaining, Transparency & Corruption, Sweden, Croatia, Armenia

After lengthy negotiations a new public sector pay structure is in place that means significant increases to the coefficients used to calculate salaries for different occupations. Overall public sector workers are set to benefit on average by 13.5% in comparison to pay levels in 2023. Most unions are generally happy with the new system, including the HSSMS-MT nurses’ and health workers’ union which is one of 11 to sign the public sector collective agreement. However, other unions, including teaching unions, are unhappy with the outcome and argue that the new system fails to deliver appropriate

The Kommunal trade union with 350,000 members covered by the largest collective agreement in Sweden (1.2 million workers in local government) is seeking major improvements in the current negotiations. It wants to address the problem that many workers don’t understand the pay system and the criteria used to establish their salary. There are concerns that the system is arbitrary. The union also wants to see changes to working time with more worker control over their working time arrangements rather than leaving it to the discretion of management or algorithmic systems. Kommunal stresses that

The Kommunal trade union has had an initial exchange with the SALAR and Sobona employer organisations ahead of the negotiations this spring on the largest collective agreement in Sweden, covering 1.2 million workers in healthcare, schools and social services. The union wants a new wage arrangement that provides a clear link between salary and professional development. Kommunal also wants a system that achieves sustainable working hours based on annual staffing surveys and with a move away from split shifts. According to the union the current pay system is too arbitrary and seven out of 10

The SDLSN is calling on the government to change the rules on representativeness for civil service pay negotiations. The union is involved in various working groups that are discussing the new pay structure for the public sector but it is concerned that the current rules on representativeness exclude it, and other trade unions, from the formal negotiations. It argues that only the police trade union meets the representativeness criterion for the main negotiations leaving many areas of the civil service without proper trade union representation as the SDLSN and other unions fall below the

The HSSMS-MT healthcare union reports that following the third round of public sector pay negotiations, unions have accepted a pay increase of 5%, an improvement on the 3% offer made in the second round of bargaining. The unions have also secured the €300 Christmas bonus that they were looking for and an Easter bonus of €100, less than they wanted but a €30 improvement on the previous offer. There is also a commitment that, should the new pay system not be in place by 1 March 2024, then negotiations would open for a general pay increase.

The Kommunal trade union has negotiated two two-year collective agreements with the Fremia employers’ organisation that covers non-profit service providers. In the agreement with Fremia covering personal assistance, wage increases will be negotiated around an amount of at least SEK 993 (€84) from 1 October 2023 and at least SEK 875 (€74) from 1 October 2024. Minimum wage rates will be increased by SEK 1,350 (€115) from 1 January 2024 and by SEK 875 (€74) from 1 January 2025 while all allowances and supplements will be increased by 4.1% and 3.3% on the same dates. In the civil society agreement

Survey evidence from members of the Kommunal trade union paints a worrying picture of staffing levels in homes for the elderly over the summer. The union asked its local union representatives about staffing levels with as many as 62% saying that staffing will be insufficient and only 3% stating that staffing will be adequate. Four out of five also said that staffing will be similar to last year or worse while only 9% said things had improved. Kommunal argues that the situation for staff in elderly care is catastrophic and year after year, they are forced to work harder and faster to cover the

Trade unions Kommunal and Vårdförbundet have negotiated a 29-month agreement covering the health and social care sector running from 1 May 2023 to 30 September 2025. Kommunal reports that the amount for increases for full-time employees on 1 May 2023 is SEK 1138 (€97) and SEK 1049 (€90) on 1 May 2024. The new minimum salary as of 1 October 2023 will be SEK 22203 (€1900) and SEK 24456 (€2090) for those with upper secondary education. The corresponding figures for 2024 will be SEK 23252 (€1990) and SEK 25505 (€2180). For Vårdförbundet the main elements include: salary increases in the first year

Kommunal and the Almega Vårdföretagarna employers’ organisation have negotiated two new collective agreements for employees working in private health and social care and eldercare both of which run from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2025. In the private health and social care agreement, the minimum wage will be increased by SEK 1350 (€115) in 2023 and by 3.5% in 2024. The general wage rises will be SEK 1156 (€100) in 2023 and SEK 995 (€85) in 2024. The new minimum salary as of 1 December 2023 will be SEK 21297 (€1830) with a rate of SEK 24013 (€2060) for professionals. These rates will rise to SEK

Public service trade unions, including SDLSN and HSMSS-MT, have expressed major concerns at the attempt by the government to rush to set up a new pay system covering the 240,000 workers in the public sector. The unions argue that there are many factors at play covering different groups of workers that make it impossible to complete negotiations by the end of June. The government says that the changes are needed as part of the reforms required by the European Union for Croatia to access funds from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. The unions are worried that legislation will be put

The Kommunal trade union reports that municipalities on the island of Öland are looking to reduce working time while maintaining pay to try to address the recruitment problem in eldercare. Mörbylånga in the south of the island was the first to offer 85% of working hours at full-time rates in response to indications that workers needed the full-time level of pay but couldn’t cope with the demands of a full-time job. This produced an increase in recruitment and the now arrangement is being tested for a year in Borgholm in the north of the island.

The Vårdförbundet and Kommunal health and care unions have negotiated new and stricter rules on working time that will ensure workers have the right to proper rest time and in particular meet the requirement for 11 hours consecutive rest every 24 hours set by the Working Time Directive. The negotiations with the SKR and Sobona employer organisations took place following criticism from the European Commission that existing provisions did not ensure compliance with the Directive. The new rules will mean that any reduction to the 11-hour rest period will only be in exceptional circumstances and

The LO, mainly blue-collar workers’ trade union confederation, has put specific figures to its proposed pay coordination formula that it has drafted for the pay bargaining round in early 2023 with a key aim of supporting lower paid workers. The general pay claim would be for a 4.4% increase but with a minimum increase of SEK 1192 (€110) for those earning less than SEK 27100 (€2500) a month and with an increase of SEK 1371 (€126) on minimum wages in collective agreements. The majority of LO member organisations backed the plan although there are some concerns that the overall target is too low