Working Time, Health, Sweden

Trade unions in the municipal sector have been negotiating with the SKR and Sobona employer organisations in local and regional government with differing outcomes so far. The Vision trade union, representing mainly white-collar workers has settled on the basis of a 3.3% general pay rise and commitments to a review of working hours and joint initiatives to deliver healthier workplaces. The Vårdförbundet health professionals’ union has gone to mediation mainly because it has major concerns over the employers’ proposals on working time and the work environment which it believes will mean worse

Following the article on Iceland, the latest in the series of articles on working time commissioned by EPSU from the Labour Research Department focuses on developments in the other Nordic countries. While several unions in Sweden have put shorter working time on the bargaining agenda (see also article on Sweden in this newsletter), there are only a few cases in social care where a shorter working week has been implemented. In Norway and Denmark the priority has been more to ensure that workers in health and care and other services have the right to full-time working although there are some

A new report from the Swedish Association of Health Professionals (SAHP) shows that more than four out of 10 young people up to the age of 29 do not believe that they will stay in healthcare for the rest of their working lives. One in five young people testify that the workload is so high with inadequate rest and recovery that it cannot be managed. The union argues that if young people leave the health care system, the existing staffing shortages will worsen. The report shows that more than half of young people feel that staffing is rarely or never sufficient and 85% believe that the workload

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

Vårdförbundet, the trade union for health professionals has set out its main demands for shorter working hours and higher wages for the upcoming negotiations with the SALAR and Sobona employer organisations. The collective agreement covers 90,000 midwives, biomedical analysts, radiographers and nurses employed by municipalities and regions. A recent report by the union found that three out of 10 members work part time and many of these do so because they can't cope with full-time hours. Half say that the main reason is the need for rest and recovery. The survey also showed that one in two part

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

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

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

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.

A survey for the SAHP trade union found that 43% of its members faced violent threats at some point in 2022 and 22% were subjected to actual violence at some point during the year. The research revealed that mental illness and the influence of alcohol and/or drugs are the most common factors in violent incidents. Worryingly only half of those subjected to threats or violence say that some form of report was made. The SAHP says that employers should always show zero tolerance for threats and violence against healthcare professionals and must increase the preventive work with risk assessments

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