Collective Bargaining, Working Time, Sweden

(May 2016) Municipal workers' union, Kommunal, has negotiated a new three-year agreement covering the welfare sector that includes a real pay increase for all but a higher pay increase for skilled nurses. This is a key part of the union's strategy to tackle the gender pay gap. In 2016 the basic pay increase will be SEK 520 (EUR 56) while nurses will get SEK 2010 (EUR 110). The agreement also includes provisions to ensure that full-time employment is the norm in the sector. Read more at Kommunal (SV)

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

The Kommunal municipal workers' union has launched a new service for members to make it easy for them to check if they are covered by a collective agreement. The system covers around 18000 employers who operate in Kommunal's sectors and it will provide an easy way for workers, particularly those moving to a new job, to check if their new employer signs up to a collective agreement.

(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 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

(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.

(November 2016) The annual report on wages from the LO trade union confederation shows that workers have benefitted from real wage increases over the past 20 years. However, the report also reveals that the gender pay gap remains persistently high at 15% while the gap between pay for blue and white collar workers has increased and is now at 47%, a level not seen since the 1930s.

Health workers in Stockholm are benefitting from the implementation of an agreement on emergency situations that provides for a 120% additional payment on top of normal pay. The agreement was negotiated by several unions last year mainly in response to the spate of major forest fires. At the beginning of the month the SKR municipal employers' organisation agreed that the critical situation arising from COVID-19 met the criteria to activate the agreement in Stockholm.The agreement provides for longer working hours and different rules on rest periods. If emergency overtime is worked then the

Several unions, including Kommunal, Vision, ASSR and Vårdförbundet, have welcomed the resolution of a dispute with Church of Sweden over a transition agreement. The dispute, which involved some targeted industrial action, meant that the pay rise and general collective agreement for 2022-23 were postponed but are now being implemented as the unions finalise the details of the agreement covering job transitions with important provisions on careers and training.

Trade unions and employer organisations in public services have reviewed the impact of the crisis agreement that was negotiated to regulate pay and conditions of employees working during critical events such as natural disasters, fires and floods, pandemics or acts of terrorism. It covers approximately 1.2 million employees in municipalities, regions and municipal companies, including healthcare, care, school, infrastructure and emergency services. Initially, negotiated following major forest fires, the agreement has also been implemented during the COVID pandemic. The review found it was

Municipal workers’ union Kommunal has welcomed new provisions in the crisis agreement negotiated with local and regional government employers. The agreement can be activated temporarily by the employers and was originally developed to deal with large forest fires but has been extended to any major crises such as floods, fires, electricity supply cuts or pandemics. The new agreement applies from 1 July and now limits how long an individual can be assigned to the agreement to ensure a proper recovery period. The main changes include: an employer may only activate the agreement if there is a need