The situation in healthcare in Sweden is no longer sustainable, according to the healthcare union, which has gone on strike. The major point of contention is about how many hours per day one should work.
Here are some of the union's demands:
The major bone of contention between the union and the employers, including the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR) and Sobona, concerns working hours. The Swedish Association of Health Professionals wants to see a gradual reduction in working hours.
In the first instance, they have demanded a reduction in working hours of 75 minutes per week or 15 minutes per day. The union argues that shorter working weeks have been successful in neighbouring Nordic countries.
However, the employers have categorically rejected the demand for shorter working hours, citing economic unviability.
The union also wants to see more "sustainable rotas" so that healthcare staff can get the recovery time they need to be able to work a full career. The Swedish Association of Health Professionals argues that many healthcare workers are forced to work part-time because they cannot cope with the demands of full-time work under current conditions.
"The lack of recovery time leads to staff going part-time, and in the worst case, being signed off sick", wrote the union's chair, Sineva Ribeiro, in a debate article coinciding with the overtime blockade coming into effect on 25 April.
Overall, the Swedish Association of Health Professionals' industrial action is about improving the working environment, but they also want to see higher wages and a reduced pay gap between women and men. The union has not specified exactly how much higher wages they are seeking.
