Kommunal varslar om konflikt mot Visita

Negotiations between Kommunal and the employer organisation Visita have broken down. The negotiations concern the contractual sector for cooks, kitchen assistants and other catering/canteen workers in health care facilities.

Kommunal has therefore given a formal advance notification of an industrial dispute, which will begin on Friday 15 September at 17:00 at the earliest.

The notice entails a strike and union ban on employing new staff, hiring staff from temporary employment agencies, overtime and extra hours at a number of workplaces.

Visita is refusing to take responsibility and does not want to raise the minimum wages in the agreements in accordance with the index* that applies in the Swedish labour market. Kommunal cannot accept that employers are allowed to freely choose when to apply the index; this is not how the Swedish labour market works.

Everyone who works in Kommunal’s sectors of collective agreements must receive wage increases equal to others in the Swedish labour market.

*) The index, or the so called “märket”, is the pay increase which the industrial unions and employers have agreed upon. The industry’s pay increase should guide the pay increases for the other sectors. Both trade unions, employers, the government and the parliament have agreed upon this. Though the index is often interpreted differently by the unions and the employers.

On Friday 15 September at 17:00, at the earliest.

If the parties do not reach an agreement before 17:00 on 15 September, work will be stopped at a large number of workplaces. The notice entails a strike and union ban on employing new staff, hiring staff from temporary employment agencies, overtime and extra hours at a number of workplaces.

These measures will also take effect at 17:00 on 15 September.

The affected occupational groups organised by Kommunal include cooks, kitchen assistants and other catering/canteen workers at some hospitals and health care centres. Read more about which workplaces are affected in the document higher up on this webpage.

The overall key demands that Kommunal is pursuing in the 2023 agreements negotiations are:

• Wage increases for everyone, with the greatest increases for those with the lowest wages.

• A clear and orderly individual wage determination supported by a requirement for written documentation.

• Sustainable working hours and protected rest and recovery.

Visita does not want to raise the minimum wages stipulated in the agreements in accordance with the index. This means that Kommunal’s members are being denied wage increases equal to others in the Swedish labour market.

Kommunal refuses to end up in a position where the index is a ceiling rather than a floor. It is reckless for the employers to challenge the index like this. In doing so, they are risking long-term consequences and affecting confidence in both the index and the entire Swedish model. 

Visita is to blame for this industrial dispute. Kommunal will never give in and allow the members of Kommunal to be denied fair wage increases equal to those in the rest of the Swedish labour market. 

An employer can apply for an exemption. We will handle each individual application separately. 

If you are a member of our union and work at a workplace which is on strike, you will receive instructions from Kommunal about what to do. If you are a member and work at a workplace which is not on strike, you must continue to work and fulfil your duties until Kommunal informs you otherwise.

If you are on strike, you will not receive any wages from your employer. However, if you are a member of Kommunal, you will receive strike pay.

Only members of Kommunal receive financial support during strikes or lock outs. Anyone who is a member of Kommunal before the industrial dispute begins is covered by the right to dispute compensation. This means workers who are not members of Kommunal may be severely affected if their employer declares a lock out.

If you are not allowed to work because a union ban on employing new staff has been imposed on your workplace, anyone who is a member of Kommunal before the start of the industrial dispute is entitled to compensation. You will need to provide us with a pay slip or similar documentation that shows how much you usually work.

There are a number of things you can do to support workers covered by the affected agreements. For example, you can: 

• Talk to your co-workers who are not Kommunal members. If they join Kommunal, together we can put more pressure on your employer.  
• Share and like posts on Kommunal’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
• Get active in Kommunal at local level to bring about a change at your workplace. Trade union work is carried out on many different levels. By getting involved, you can bring about major improvements at your workplace.

Non-organised workers can join us and take part in the industrial action on the same terms as organised workers. The same applies to those working in Kommunal’s contractual sectors but are members of another trade union. However, they are not entitled to any compensation from Kommunal. If you are not a member of Kommunal, you should remain neutral, i.e., only perform the tasks you normally do. 

No. If your employer asks for this information, you have no obligation to tell them whether you are a member of Kommunal or not. In the event that a member refuses to disclose their membership status and suffers retaliation, Kommunal may consider this a violation of the right of association and take legal action. 

Essential work is work required for the discontinuation of operations in a technically justifiable manner or for the prevention of danger to people or damage to property. Work that someone is obliged to perform due to a special legal provision is subject to the same rules as essential work. In Kommunal’s view, the types of tasks covered by the notice should not be considered. as essential work.

Your employer cannot order you to perform work, regardless of whether they claim that it is essential work. Instead, your employer may contact Kommunal and apply for an exemption or request a negotiation with Kommunal.

When an agreement period has expired and the parties need to reach a new collective agreement, sometimes Kommunal and the parties on the employer side can have very disparate views. If no agreement can be reached, there is the possibility of resorting to an industrial dispute, so-called industrial actions.

The right of trade unions to strike is constitutionally protected in the Instrument of Government. This means that when the trade union is not subject to a no-strike agreement (i.e., when a collective agreement has expired or been terminated), it may take industrial actions, such as a strike or blockade. An individual worker may not strike on their own initiative; it is the union that orders its members to strike.

For the union, an industrial dispute can entail union ban on employing new staff and on overtime, or a strike. Employers sometimes resort to using lock outs as a weapon. When there is a risk of industrial actions and the parties have not already requested the help of mediators, a request for mediation is sent to the Swedish National Mediation Office.

The purpose of the industrial dispute is to put pressure on the other party, for example by refusing to perform work or overtime work, i.e., through a strike or overtime blockade by the workers. The employer can exert pressure in the form of a lock out.

In the event of a strike, the union selects a number of strike objects and takes out its members who work there. All members who are selected for a strike receive compensation from Kommunal’s strike fund for the duration of the industrial dispute. The same applies to lock outs. A lock out means that an employer barrs workers from their workplace. If the union calls upon part of the workforce to strike, the employer can respond with a lockout of the entire workforce. In such instances, Kommunal pays dispute compensation to members affected by the lockout.

Only members of Kommunal receive financial support during strikes or lock outs. This means workers who are not members of Kommunal may be severely affected if their employer declares a lockout.

The only restriction on professions that can strike applies to civil servants in the exercise of public authority. They are only permitted to engage in certain forms of industrial action. Otherwise, there are no restrictions that prevent certain occupations from being allowed to strike.

Furthermore, a strike cannot endanger society. However, what exactly makes a strike dangerous to society is not predefined or specified to apply to a particular occupational group. There is a committee that can be tasked with deciding on a case-by-case basis whether an industrial dispute poses a danger to society or not, but it is extremely rare that these matters make it all the way to the committee. Instead, the possible societal risks of an industrial dispute are usually addressed in dialogue between the parties to the dispute. 

The employer can also claim that a job is essential work and should therefore be exempted. These decisions can also be made by a committee, but that is extremely unusual. To resolve the issue, the union usually grants exemptions for certain jobs.

But what you need to know is this: If you are taken out of work to go on strike, you must strike. It is Kommunal that is responsible for ensuring that the strike follows all the rules, not you as a worker. If your employer claims that you must perform work even though you are on strike, you should continue to strike, but do contact Kommunal so that we can discuss this with your employer.

Contact your local branch if you want to know more about what applies to you!

Here is a Swedish-English glossary with some of the most common words used during agreements negotiations. 

Film: This is how your collective agreement is negotiated (English subtitles)