Kommunal - Information in different languages

Contact information

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:52:35 GMT

How to contact Kommunal.

Swedish Municipal Workers’ Union (Svenska Kommunalarbetareförbundet) Box 190 39 SE-104 32 Stockholm forbundet@kommunal.se phone: +46 10 442 70 00 fax: +46 8 31 87 45 Address for our visitors: Hagagatan 2, Stockholm, Sweden (Tubestation: Odenplan)

كوردي باشــوور/South kurdish/Sydkurdiska

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:11:38 GMT

Kurmancî/North Kurdish/Nordkurdiska

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:31:11 GMT

ਪੰਜਾਬੀ/Panjabi/Punjabi

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:25:26 GMT

Shqip/Albanian/Albanska

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:11:19 GMT

ภาษาไทย/Thai/Thailändska

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:27:54 GMT

اللغة العربية/Arabian/Arabiska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:59:15 GMT

فارسی/Persian/Persiska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:58:36 GMT

Af-soomaali/Somali/Somaliska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:54:51 GMT

Bosanski-hrvatski-srpski/Serbo-croat/Bosniska-kroatiska-serbiska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:27:48 GMT

Español/Spanish/Spanska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:57:19 GMT

Français/French/Franska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:49:17 GMT

Polski/Polish/Polska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:42:58 GMT

русский/Russian/Ryska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:26:26 GMT

Sámigiella/North Sami/Nordsamiska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:53:13 GMT

Suomi/Finnish/Finska

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:46:51 GMT

Türkçe/Turkish/Turkiska

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:35:09 GMT

Tieng viet/Vietnamese/Vietnamesiska

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:39:47 GMT

English/Engelska

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:05:00 GMT

Trade unions without frontiers

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:41:17 GMT

Kommunal is a member of three global trade union federations;

PSI, the Public Services International ITF, the International Transport Workers’ Federation IUF, the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations. Kommunal is also active in the federations’ European and Nordic bodies. International commitment runs through Kommunal’s entire history. The union was involved in establishing the global union federations for trade union co-operation. Today it is important for Kommunal to influence Swedish politicians who represent Sweden in various international arenas. For example on matters decided in the EU and WTO. Kommunal runs development projects, mainly in collaboration with the PSI and the IUF. The projects aim to strengthen and support trade unions in developing countries and in countries in transformation and crisis. These projects are financed through grants from the LO-TCO Secretariat of International Trade Union Development Cooperation and the Olof Palme International Center. The grants are financed by about 20 % from trade union funds and about 80 % from the government agency SIDA, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The national Kommunal organisation is always responsible for the projects, even when a region carries out the work. Some projects are run in direct co-operation between Kommunal and other trade unions but this is always in co-operation with the global trade union federations.

Important demands on Kommunal’s agenda

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:40:43 GMT

Pay, a good working environment and working hours.

Pay: Higher relative salaries. Equalising incomes between women and men. Individual salaries that stimulate and support members’ occupational development. A good working environment. Working hours: Full time should be a right, part-time a possibility. This is important, since many employers in the occupational groups with mainly women only offer part-time work.

Kommunal negotiates

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:39:38 GMT

Pay and other conditions of employment for Kommunal’s members are determined in the trade union agreement with the employers.

Certain fundamental rules are statutory, in other respects conditions at workplaces are regulated in agreements. This is particular to Sweden, that the collective agreement regulates matters which in other countries are enacted in law. In order to have their demands included in the agreement, both the trade union and the employer may give notice of industrial action, strike or lockout. When the agreement is concluded there is an obligation to keep industrial peace for the entire period of the agreement. For each area of agreement Kommunal appoints a negotiation delegation with representatives of all the occupations concerned. Under Kommunal’s constitution the National Executive Committee must always approve the agreements. When the central agreement is signed, local negotiations usually start, deciding how the agreement is to be applied at different workplaces. Local negotiations are held under the obligation to observe industrial peace. Negotiations on how an agreement is to be interpreted are also held under the obligation to observe industrial peace. If they fail, the dispute may be brought before the Labour Court.

Change can create security in life

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:39:04 GMT

Belonging to Kommunal provides security. Several studies show that this is the most important reason for joining the trade union.

One of the conditions for secure jobs is that the employer has a rational and effective operation. Kommunal and many other trade unions in Sweden have promoted this view for many years. This means that we are often positive to changes, but in order for the employees to accept this, the changes must be implemented in a socially responsible way. Kommunal supports members in order to enable them to participate actively in the change process. For this, good management is necessary. Better leadership in working life has recently become one of Kommunal’s important demands. The LO affiliates are organised in accordance with the industrial union principle. It is the industry in which the workplace operates that determines which trade union will sign the collective agreement. Sometimes publicly funded operations are run by contractors or co-operatives, where the employees can belong to Kommunal. Buses can be privatised or go back to public ownership, just as child day-care centres or elderly care. The employees stay with Kommunal. An important issue for Kommunal is that agreements are industry independent – the same conditions should apply regardless of whether or not the employer is publicly run.

Good to be a member

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:38:34 GMT

Kommunal’s members pay about 2 percent of their salary in membership fees. What do they get for it? Help in negotiations. Kommunal concludes agreements on pay and other conditions of employment. The trade union pays strike/lockout pay to members taking part in legal strikes or lockouts.

Legal assistance. In disputes with the employer, Kommunal negotiates on behalf of the member. If the dispute is brought before the Labour Court the trade union can meet the costs. The affiliates of LO (the Swedish Trade Union Confederation) and TCO (the Confederation of Professional Employees) have a joint law firm, which for example in 2003 secured about SEK 40 million in damages and other compensation to Kommunal’s members. Studies. Kommunal arranges courses and study circles for its members on agreements, social, political and international issues. Members’ magazine. Kommunalarbetaren (the Municipal Worker) is published every two weeks. Members can also find information and other services on this website. Elected trade union representatives have their own home page where agreements, laws and other tools for fulfilling their trade union responsibilities can be found. Unemployment insurance fund. Unemployed members receive benefit from the 6th day of unemployment and up to 300 days. About one fourth of the membership fees are paid to the unemployment fund. Insurance. All members have home insurance and accident insurance covering accidents outside working hours.

A mirror of the welfare society

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:23:22 GMT

The history of Kommunal mirrors the Swedish welfare society. Kommunal was established in 1910 and at that time had 593 members, all men. Municipal operations were limited, many municipalities only had one or two employees. Roads and refuse collection then constituted the core activities.

Since then, other areas have grown immensely, as a result of political decisions. For example care of the elderly has developed from the poor relief of olden days to a natural universal right. Now municipal care of the elderly is the largest labour market for municipal workers. Since World War II public childcare has been extended as a conscious measure, both for the sake of child development and to allow both parents to have paid jobs. One effect of this is that unpaid work in the home has changed to paid skilled work. Swedish welfare policy has been directed at allowing individual development as well as providing security at different stages of life. The Swedish labour movement believes that welfare services should be publicly financed, mainly through taxes, so that publicly elected assemblies decide the objectives and direction of welfare policy. On the whole, welfare services are publicly managed. But even when private or co-operative companies are responsible, they are based on public financing and politicians have the ultimate responsibility.