The municipal employees' union, which had called a strike for April 18, eventually withdrew it, 24 hours before it was due to start. As for nurses, they kept up the pressure for a few more days, threatening to stop work if their demands – including clarification of their working hours, among other issues – were not met. In the midst of renegotiation of collective agreements in Sweden's public sector, this movement bears witness to a widespread feeling of dissatisfaction among "welfare state workers." They are on the front line when it comes to austerity measures being implemented by the kingdom's 290 municipalities and 21 regions, whose finances are in the red.
A pediatric nurse since 1998 and a representative of the Kommunal union, Malin Tillgren found it hard to pinpoint when the situation began to deteriorate. "It has become progressively worse," she said. Tasks, especially administrative ones, have increased. The pace of work has quickened. "Today, it's not unusual to start the day at 7:15 am with a list of patients you know you won't have time to look after."
Some of her colleagues refrain from drinking water during the day, to avoid going to the toilet. Breaks are regularly skipped, as are days off. "The worst thing is never knowing when you'll be called in to work." This is because there's a staff shortage in public hospitals and care centers. The booming private sector offers better conditions. In addition, at least 14,000 nurses (out of 114,000 still working) have changed profession.
Not choice but to cut back
Across Sweden, the feeling is the same: Despite being a priority for voters, healthcare is no longer being allocated the resources it needs. And it's not going to get any better. According to SKR, the association of Swedish local authorities, the municipal deficit is set to reach 7 billion kronor (€600 million) by 2024, and 24 billion kronor for the regions. In early April, the liberal-conservative government, backed by the far right, announced a 6.5 billion kronor boost to health spending.
But this is not enough, said Annika Wallenskog, chief economist at SKR, who saw two main reasons for the current crisis. "On the one hand, there has been a reduction in the health budget, which increased in 2021 and 2022, to finance vaccination against Covid-19 and make up for delays in care due to the pandemic. On the other hand, the cost of pensions, paid for by local authorities, has exploded, with an increase of 30 billion kronor [€2.6 billion] in 2023 compared with 2022."
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