At 4 p.m. last Thursday, 63,000 members of the Vårdförbundet who are employed in the care sector went on a comprehensive blockade. The fight is about wages but above all better working hours.
The blockade means a stop to overtime, overtime and new hires. This means that Vårdförbundet’s members must go home from work on time and not work extra.
But already on the same afternoon that the blockade came into effect, nurses were ordered in for protective work at Västmanland’s hospital in Västerås, says HR director Therese Deutsch.
According to information to TT, this has happened in several parts of the country.
Protective work is part of healthcare employers can step in during the ongoing care dispute if an emergency situation arises. The aim is that patients should not be acutely affected by the Vårdförbundet’s blockade.
Therese Deutsch knows of at least five cases of protective work at Västmanland’s hospital during the first afternoon, evening and night of the blockade. Two of them touch the ambulance.
– This must be negotiated with the union afterwards, she says.
Therese Deutsch says that Region Västmanland is also in local negotiations with the Vårdförbundet, which is about the region wanting to exempt the ambulance, intensive care, emergency and other vulnerable operations from the overtime blockade.
– So far, no patients have been acutely affected by the conflict, she says.
Sweden’s regions and municipalities, SKR, has previously stated that an overtime blockade from the Swedish Healthcare Association risks becoming dangerous to society. On Friday afternoon, there were no signs of that, according to SKR’s press service.
According to SKR, the board that is to decide whether the industrial action is dangerous to society or not had not received any cases on Friday afternoon.
A survey carried out by Ekot shows that the effects of the healthcare conflict have so far been small. But in Stockholm, planned orthopedic operations have had to be cancelled.
Judith Jacobsson, a nurse at the medical clinic at Västmanland Hospital, is one of those who, less than a day after the blockade came into force, was ordered to do protective work for two nights.
When the blockade started, she stood with a patient and gave antibiotics.
Photo: Nicklas Thegerström
– I looked at the clock and felt, now it starts.
All patients had the television on. Soon the news about the blockade rolled on the screens, says Judith Jacobsson.
– “Now you have to fight,” said an elderly lady. Relatives were curious and asked questions. It felt good, I felt seen. I have been worried that people in general will not understand what we are fighting for, she says.
Judith Jacobsson has previously told DN how she and her colleagues regularly work overtime and are called in for extra shifts because the staffing is not enough.
She thinks the Vårdförbundet’s overtime blockade is an important mark.
– If the nursing staff can’t take it, who will do the job? Now we put our foot down.
What has caused the contract negotiations between unions and employers to run aground is, above all, the Health Confederation’s demand for a shorter working week. Something SKR has so far refused to agree to.
SKR has announced that they want to resume negotiations with the help of mediators. The healthcare association has no such plans at the moment, according to the association’s press service.
The care conflict therefore looks set to continue.
Facts.This is how you are affected by the care conflict
1: The regions’ appeal to you as a patient is to assume that care works as usual. That is, seek care when you need it.
2: If an emergency situation arises when, for example, a nurse actually ends her shift, the employer can order protective work so that the patient is not affected. It must be negotiated with the union, but if it is urgent, the negotiation can take place afterwards.
3: The regions assess that planned care may have to be canceled and the focus placed on emergency medical care due to the Vårdförbundet’s blockade. The risk of this increases the longer the conflict continues. If, for example, an operation is cancelled, the healthcare provider must inform the affected patient.
Show more
Show less
Facts.The care conflict in brief
On Thursday, April 25 at 4 p.m. in the afternoon, the Vårdförbundet went into a national blockade affecting 63,000 members.
The blockade applies to a stop to overtime, overtime and new hires by the Vårdförbundet’s member groups.
The professional groups included are nurses, midwives, biomedical analysts and radiology nurses. Some managers are also covered.
All the country’s regions are affected, including four municipal companies in Stockholm: Ambulance hospital in Greater Stockholm, Södersjukhuset, Danderyd Hospital and Capio St. Göran Hospital.
The blockade came into effect after negotiations for a new agreement broke down. On one side is the Vårdförbundet. On the other side, Sweden’s municipalities and regions, SKR, and Sobona, the municipal companies’ employer organization.
The negotiations have been ongoing since the turn of the year.
Source: Vårdförbundet, SKR
Show more
Show less
Tags: Nurses ordered protective work
-
