Strike, Central government, Sweden

The IF Metall engineering union has been taking strike action to put pressure on Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, to sign a collective agreement. Although the direct dispute involves a small number of members, the union is determined to prevent Tesla from undermining the strong system of collective bargaining not only in the metal sector but across the whole economy. Many unions in other sectors have taken solidarity action and public service trade unions like Kommunal are showing their support and urging their members to get involved in the campaign. Meanwhile, unions in neighbouring

The ST civil servants’ union, part of the OFR/S,P,O group of negotiating unions, concluded a new collective agreement with the Swedish Agency for Government Employers on 30 September. The overall wage development will be 7.4% over two years in line with wage trends in the export industry sector. There will be local negotiations at individual workplaces to determine how the increase is allocated. The agreement also provides for an improved holiday supplement, extra leave so that both parents will be entitled to time off for maternity clinic appointments and increased job security, with a six

Negotiations over pay and other conditions between the Kommunal trade union and the Visita company that provides catering services for several hospitals have broken down. The union has announced that action by workers at many facilities will go ahead from 14:00 on 15 September unless the company returns to the negotiating table with a commitment to negotiate and particularly to address Kommunal’s proposals to support the lower paid. The union will also block any new hiring as well as implement an overtime ban. Kommunal argues that higher inflation means that it is crucial to deliver pay rises

The Kommunal and Vision public service unions are involved in mediation over a dispute with the Swedish church. The unions are concerned that the church has failed to negotiate a transition agreement in line with many other employers, following recent legislative changes. Instead the church appears to want to reduce employment conditions as a way to compensate for delivering the new transition agreement. Kommunal has announced that it will initiate a dispute on 22 April if there is no agreement, starting with industrial action and building to potential strike action on 27 April.

The nine state sector unions in the OFR/S,P,O bargaining council have set out their main priorities for the upcoming bargaining round. Underlining the need to maintain a skilled workforce in the public sector the unions want to see pay follow developments in the private sector. They are also calling for greater working time flexibility to suit employees rather than the needs of employers. With the increase in telework as a result of the pandemic, the unions are calling for a joint review of telework rules. They are also raising issues in relation to employment security and health and well

(October 2016) The ST trade union has negotiated a new collective agreement covering around 100000 workers in the state sector. It provides for pay increases of 2.2% in the year to 30 September 2017. There are other important elements regarding working conditions including action to deal with stress and violence at work and special measures to provide support for overworked managers.

(May 2016) The ST civil service union has negotiated a new agreement covering companies in the rail infrastructure sector. There will be a wage increase of 2.38% along with increases on unsocial hours payments and the agreement runs until 30 April 2017. There are also provisions to increase job security with monitoring of the use of fixed-term contracts, The agreement also includes clearer language on the employer's responsibility for the working environment, covering issues like workloads, overtime and victimization. Read more at ST (SV)