Social Services, Strike, Sweden

Municipal workers' union Kommunal is calling on the government and all political parties to ensure that promised additional funding of SEK 5 billion (EUR 485 million) will be available to pay for extra staffing in the care sector. The union estimates that an additional 135000 jobs are needed in the short term. A large survey of Kommunal members found that almost one in two assistant nurses felt that the staffing problem in elderly care was so bad that it posed a risk to the elderly. There were similar concerns among childcare assistants about staffing shortages posing risks to children. The

An update of a survey by the Kommunal municipal workers' union has revealed differences between private and public eldercare in terms of pay and conditions. On average a full-time municipal worker in eldercare is paid SEK 2300 (EUR 225) more a month than their private counterpart. Private sector workers are also more likely to work part time (72%) and on fixed-term contracts (37%) than municipal workers (61% and 27% respectively). A survey of members also found that private sector workers feel less satisfied with the job and less motivated than municipal workers and while both sets of workers

Municipal workers' union Kommunal is highlighting a new report that contrasts workers' views of pay and conditions in the female-dominated care sector with those of workers in the male-dominated construction sector. In a wide range of assessments the views of care workers are much more negative than their counterparts in construction. While more than half of care workers have thought about changing jobs this applies to only 38% in construction while only 33% think that staffing levels are adequate in the care sector compared to 60% in construction. Half of care workers wouldn't recommend their

Municipal workers' union Kommunal has negotiated a new two-year agreement with private care providers which includes general pay increases, additions for low-paid workers and several provisions on working time. The agreement follows the main municipal deal that provided for increases of 2% in 2018 and 2.3% in 2019 but in companies where average pay is below SEK 24000 (EUR 2330) a month in 2018 and below SEK 24480 (EUR 2380) in 2019, increases will be implemented as flat-rate amounts of SEK 490 (EUR 47) in 2018 and SEK 563 (EUR 55) in 2019. Assistant nurses will also get an extra 0.5%. Other

Kommunal, the municipal workers' union, has published a report highlighting the staffing challenges facing the eldercare sector. According to a survey by the union, 27% of workers in the sector say they want to leave over the next three years. Kommunal's report comes up with a number of proposals to make working in eldercare more attractive including ensuring proper staffing levels, creating more opportunities for career development, recognising the knowledge and experience of staff, establishing specialised eldercare educational provision, reviewing the number of employees per manager and

(July 2017) Over the past few months, the white-collar union Vision has negotiated 12 collective agreements with the KFS employers' organisation covering municipal companies in different sectors such as care, museums and property services. The agreements are similar and run to 2020. They don't have specific wage increases but individual workers negotiate their pay based on a number of factors including their responsibilities and the performance of the company. As guidance, Vision is looking at increases of 2.2% this year and next and 2.3% in 2019. The agreements also include new provisions on

The Kommunal municipal services trade union has declared a dispute with private companies that provide personal assistants who work with people with disabilities. The collective agreement with the private employers' organisation expired on 30 June and the union has been calling for a pay rise of SEK 535 (€56) a month, in line with other agreements in the sector. So far the employers have offered less than half this amount (SEK 249, €25). Kommunal says this is unacceptable for such an important group of workers and with negotiations stalled the union has said its formal notice of a dispute with

(June 2017) The Kommunal municipal services union has signed five agreements with municipal companies represented by the KFS employers' organisation. The agreements cover care, consultancies, real estate and business and museums and archaeological activities. They follow the main trend of a 6.5% pay increase spread over three years with the care agreement including additional increases for nurses, as did the main municipal agreement.

The Kommunal municipal workers' union has decided not to follow the wage coordination policy agreed by the LO trade union confederation. The union says that urgent action is needed to tackle staff shortages in childcare, health and other welfare services and that if it followed the LO target then workers in those sectors would only get an extra SEK 17 (EUR1.60). For Kommunal it is also important to address low pay in sectors dominated by women and the LO guideline would reduce the gender pay gap by only 0.1%.

The Kommunal municipal and health services union has set out some of the main demands that it will pursue in the upcoming collective bargaining with municipal employers. The union will aim for a 3% general pay rise with an extra 0.5% to be used at local level for specific groups of vocationally trained workers in health, child and other care. It wants vocationally trained temporary workers to be offered a permanent contract after 12 months and is calling for a number of measures on working time. Among a range of demands, Kommunal wants to ensure full-time work is the norm and argues that the

(April 2017) Municipal workers' union Kommunal has negotiated a year's extension to the three-year agreement which it negotiated last year with the SKL local government employers' organisation. The agreement provided for additional increases for nursing assistants and nurses as part of a strategy to close the gender pay gap. The basic increases in each of the four years 2016-2019 are SEK 520 (EUR 54), 530 (EUR 55), 535 (EUR 55.5) and 540 (EUR 56) while in the first and second years nursing assistants get 1020 (EUR 105) and 710 (EUR 75) while the third year includes 685 (EUR 70) for nurses. The

(January 2017) White-collar union Vision has set out its main bargaining demands in its negotiations with the KFS organisation for local enterprises. The union wants to see competitive salaries and action to improve well-being at work. It also wants employees to be on permanent contracts with employers providing objective justifications for any use of fixed-term contracts of agency staff. Longer paid holidays, individual working time accounts and shorter hours for workers in establishment requiring 24-hour cover are also among the demands.

(March 2017) A new report comparing elder care in the Nordic countries shows that the situation for workers in Sweden is has deteriorated with several elements worse than in other Nordic countries. The proportion of workers dissatisfied with their working hours is up to 41% from 29% in 2005 and eldercare workers in Sweden feel they have less change to develop their careers and less support from management. The increased workload means they have less time to spend with clients and are much more likely than 20 years ago to suffer from stress and physical exhaustion.

(September 2016) The Kommunal municipal trade union has called for a block on all new personal assistant appointments by private care companies in the ALMEGA employers' organisation. The union is protesting over the proposal by private care companies to offer personal assistants a 0.8% pay rise, well below the 2.2% being offered in the public sector.

(September 2016) Municipal union Kommunal has been successful in its campaign to secure a higher pay increase for the 40000 personal assistants working for private companies. As reported in the last issue, Kommunal rejected the 0.8% pay offer from the Almega employers' organisation, arguing that the pay increase should match the 2.2% agreed in the public sector. The higher increase was agreed after mediation.