This week, it will be decided how large the wage increases will be. But unions and employers are far apart, says, among others, IF Metall’s union president Marie Nilsson.
– Very far, says Marie Nilsson about the distance to the other party.
How do you see the possibility of agreeing? You do not have that much time on you.
– Yes, it will be tough, it will be very tough here. But we are working hard on it and expect to sign a contract, she says.
This week, the last of October, the collective agreements expire for almost two million employees. Unions and employers in the industry must agree on the wage increases first, and their agreements must then become the norm for everyone else in the queue, the so-called brand.
The unions have demanded a 3 percent surcharge in one-year agreements. The bid that came last week was worth just under 1.9 percent. The unions said no, while the employers said yes.
The corona pandemic has made it extra difficult to agree on wage increases, according to Industrial Employers’ chief negotiator Per Widolf.
– Now it is a recession that we are in, not just a pandemic. A deep recession combined with great uncertainty about other waves of infection spread, it is clear that it is complicated, he says.
In addition to the industry runs the agreements for employees in, among other things, trade and hotels and restaurants. And in the public sector, Sweden’s municipalities and regions must agree with doctors, large groups of civil servants as social secretaries and with the LO union Kommunal, where the assistant nurses are located.
Kommunal has demanded higher wage increases than others and the situation looks difficult, according to SKR’s chief negotiator Niclas Lindahl.
– Kommunal remains with its demand for more than the brand and it is troublesome, he says.
Tobias Baudin is Kommunal’s union chairman.
– Right now we are very far apart. We must have an agreement on Sunday or no later than Monday, and if we do not have it, we must start thinking about this by notifying of conflict. But we have a strong conflict organization rigged and we are ready if needed, he says.
Source: ICELAND NEWS