In mid-April, the agreement was signed between the union Sweden’s Teachers and the counterparties SKR together with Sobona. How the one-year agreement, which has been given the unimaginative name HÖK 24, looked like and whether it was a success or a fiasco is up to everyone to judge for themselves. In short, you can say that the agreement was… quite mediocre. Maybe even out of disappointment. Especially for the one who had hoped for so much more.
The disappointment is rooted in the fact that the members, mainly the teachers, felt that the new large and tough the union came across as a bit squeamish and cautious after they left the bargaining room and walked away with the agreement. There were even hopeful whispers of a strike in some quarters.
Expectations were, as it should be on a major league, high. And it is no wonder that expectations are high. The teachers top the list of sick leave numbers, many testify to an unhealthy and high workload at work, that they do not have time to complete their tasks, become stressed, tired, burnt out and so on into the Social Insurance Agency’s Excel document with statistics on the number of teachers on sick leave.
They will fight and argue
It is precisely this, and mainly this, that the teachers’ union must deal with. They have to work, fight, argue and fight so that we who work at the school can cope with our mission and have time to complete our tasks without feeling that we are inadequate or lousy – before being entered into the Social Insurance Agency’s excel document.
They must also fight for wages to develop at a satisfactory level and argue with the employer or the principal when they do not comply with cooperative laws and regulations. You want to be supported and instilled with courage all the way from the central level down to the local level.
Sweden’s Teachers should not spend either time or money standing in, among other things, the SETT fair, contributing to the criticized teachers’ gala Guldäppelt, paying expensive money to celebrities and influencers who should say obvious things like “Everything starts with a good teacher” or be seen in other unnecessary and questionable contexts.
There is a collective anger and disappointment among the members.
In various forums on Facebook and on X (where Sweden’s Teachers have chosen not to be active for some time now) the discussions have been in full swing. Many have spoken negatively about the union’s work and general dissatisfaction with the new agreement has been expressed. There is a collective anger and disappointment among the members. An anger which, incidentally, should be taken advantage of, but which is instead rejected and relativized. In my naive opinion, a union should be driven by commitment and anger.
Putting the last hope to the union
It is not so strange that the members are angry and disappointed about the new agreement – as well as about the union’s continued work. Many people are currently feeling such great frustration, fatigue, resignation and anxiety about their work. The cuts have blown like an icy wind through the whole country, school staff are on their knees and shopping stops prevail in most workplaces. When it feels tough at work, it is easy to put your last hope and faith in the union.
And hope is the last thing that abandons the school staff. If we have no hope, there is not much left to be passionate about. Except that you eventually burn out – and burn yourself out.
READ MORE:
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