The employers’ organization Sweden’s municipalities and regions are cooling off in the face of the new demands that the trade union Kommunal has handed over today ahead of the resumed negotiations on a new collective agreement.
– If you look at Kommunal’s overall requirements, it is worrying to say the least because it is on the total large costs associated with it all, says Niclas Lindahl, SKR’s chief negotiator.
The new collective agreement between Kommunal and SKR covers 350,000 people and is scheduled to take effect on the first of November.
Even before the negotiations were paused this spring, Kommunal demanded larger wage increases than other LO unions.
Today, Kommunal left over additional requirements prior to the resumption of negotiations. On the one hand, they want some form of retroactive salary as compensation for the agreement being delayed for more than six months, and on the other hand, they want the qualifying period deduction to be abolished in the new collective agreement.
– It is actually the members of Kommunal, those who lobby in elderly care, healthcare, school, who have taken Sweden through this corona crisis, you have to pay for that, said Kommunal’s chairman Tobias Baudin to Ekot this morning.
But Niclas Lindahl at SKR refers to the tough economic situation in municipalities and regions and says that rather than large general wage increases in the collective agreement, they want local wage formation where employers themselves can decide which employees and groups are to be rewarded.
– With individual and differentiated wage setting, employers have the opportunity to ensure the various efforts that have been made by all employees, says Niclas Lindahl.
Regarding Kommunal’s demand to abolish the qualifying period deduction would require a change in the law because according to current legislation it is not possible to negotiate it away.
Minister of Social Insurance Ardalan Shekarabi is currently reviewing the law to enable the social partners to be able to negotiate the qualifying period deduction.
– This is one of the questions that has been raised by the trade union Kommunal and Vรฅrdfรถrbundet who submitted letters to the government during the summer and we are currently working on the issue and reviewing that legislation.
Source: ICELAND NEWS