Trade union criticism of weak healthcare investments in the spring budget

The labor market is weakening and unemployment will rise. A little hope for the future with declining inflation, but a gloomy immediate forecast for the labor market was the introduction to Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson’s (M) presentation of the spring amendment budget.

– People are becoming unemployed now and that should not be forgotten, said the minister at the press conference.

At the same time, it is precisely what the government is criticized for doing from the trade union side. Above all when it comes to protecting the previous promise to prevent the dismissal of healthcare staff. The six billion added with the spring amendment budget provides a total of 12 billion extra for municipal and regional care this year. But according to Sweden’s municipalities and regions (SKR), the deficit is expected to be 24 billion, and notices of layoffs of healthcare personnel have already been given in several parts of the country.

– Ulf Kristersson promised that this government would not let welfare down. He promised that care, school and care would not be left to their fate. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister breaks his promise to all the hundreds of thousands of welfare workers organized by Kommunal. The spring budget does not provide the funds needed to stop the welfare slaughter that is planned around the country. The welfare crisis is now a fact, says Malin Ragnegård, municipal chairman in a comment.

The Minister of Finance emphasized during the press conference that the government wants to make it easier for the regions. The government “wants to help” them use the money in the best way. But she did not give a renewed promise that the money that is now being added should be enough to avoid redundancies in care.

– We want employees to remain in the business to the greatest extent possible, but of course they decide that themselves. This year will be tough. We’re doing our part here. But we believe that this is well balanced, said Elisabeth Svantesson in response to a question from Dagens ETC’s reporter.

TCO boosts welfare and LO the construction sector

Even TCO lacks sufficient contributions that might create long-term opportunities for regions and municipalities to plan their operations.

Biggest investments spring change budget 2024

Healthcare 6,021,000
The regions’ costs for pharmaceutical benefits 1,750,000
Vocational college education 1,600,000
Aid activities 1,343,000
Correctional Service 1,380,000
Reparation E6:an 1 008 000
Defense equipment Ukraine 1,225,000
Reduced fee for airlines flying less than 1,035,000
Armed forces preparedness 900,000
Housing allowance 650,000
The school 500,000

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– This is needed so that welfare funding is secured. The opportunity to really work preventively with everything from care and social services to school and education is central, says Therese Svanström, chair of TCO in a comment.

LO is of the same stance, but also highlights the ongoing crisis in the construction industry, which worsens unemployment.

– Construction workers are being laid off here and now and care, school and care are being cut. These are urgent problems that the government ignores, says LO chairman Susanna Gideonsson in a press release.

The union wants more resources for CSN

From the Union’s side, they would have liked to see a clearer investment in competence development, but also proper funding for the transition study support.

– Similarly, the government had to push financial resources to CSN in order for the transition study support to function as intended and reach its full potential. There are bottlenecks here that must be removed immediately, says the Union’s chairman Peter Hellberg in a press release.