Nursing Strike is a Fact. Around 2,000 members of the Union of Health Professionals are now going on strike at several major hospitals across the country.
The dispute is mainly about the union demanding shorter working hours for staff to cope. Employers, on the other hand, argue that this would be too expensive and point to several regions already spending billions of kronor.
It was clear on Monday that the parties are still far apart and the strike is a fact.
According to the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), a general reduction in working hours is not an alternative for either regions or municipalities.
"The workforce shortage is large and the prognosis is that it will worsen over the coming years. Healthcare needs every employee and reducing working hours on a large scale will hit patients and working environment," says Ulf Olsson, chairman of SKR's negotiation delegation, in a written statement.
The strike affects university hospitals in Stockholm, Västra Götaland, Skåne, Östergötland, and Västerbotten, as well as Södersjukhus in Stockholm and Danderyds sjukhus.
The University Hospital in Malmö reports that several advanced care beds will be lost and the Östra Hospital in Gothenburg will close its emergency department for a week. The University Hospital in Linköping will limit care mainly to acute care and care that cannot be delayed, according to hospital director Ninnie Borendal Wodlin.
The union has called for a new meeting with the parties on Wednesday.
Since April 25, around 63,000 members of the Union of Health Professionals in the country's regions have refused to work overtime. There is also a hiring blockade. The blockade was expanded on May 20 to also include several major municipalities.
On May 21, the Union of Health Professionals expanded its conflict warning to include a strike in five regions: Stockholm, Västra Götaland, Skåne, Östergötland, and Västerbotten.
The strike includes the following hospitals:
Skånes universitetssjukhus
Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset
Karolinska universitetssjukhuset
Linköpings universitetssjukhus
Norrlands universitetssjukhus
Danderyds sjukhus
Södersjukhuset
The Union of Health Professionals has 114,000 members and organizes midwives, biomedical analysts, nurses, and radiology nurses.
