The parties have agreed that employers in socially important activities can apply for a dispensation to allow employees to work up to 24 hours per day. The dispensation is valid for a maximum of one year.
The municipal union also confirms the agreement on its website.
“The new agreements will be submitted to the European Commission and included in the review of the basic agreement on working hours that was reached by the parties on November 30, 2022,” says Ulf Olsson, chairman of SKR’s negotiating delegation and Sobona’s association board in a press release.
The EU has questioned working hours
As of October 1, SKR is changing its rules for 24-hour rest. The European Commission has questioned whether the collective agreement is compatible with the EU’s working time directive in certain parts.
Working time directives mean that employees must have eleven hours of rest during a 24-hour period. This may mean that schedules change for, among other things, firefighters and that they are prohibited from working 24-hour shifts.
An EU directive sets goals that the member states must achieve, but they can decide for themselves how this is to be done.
Negotiations are still ongoing with Sweden’s Medical Association.
