As of October 1, Sweden’s municipalities and regions are changing their 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.
The directive means 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. Instead, they will work more shifts per month.
Patrick Falck is a firefighter at Ekerö fire station and is one of those who have signed the petition. According to him, the new working hours make it more difficult to combine the profession with parenthood. He has a long way to work and has his children every two weeks.
According to one of the proposals that have been put forward, Falck says, the firefighters must work Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, from 19:00 to 07:00.
– To do it three days in a row is total madness, I’ve never heard anything worse.
Registration has been started
The National Association of Firefighters has started a collection of names among the country’s 5,000 full-time and 10,000 part-time firefighters. So far, over 2,000 firefighters have signed the petition demanding exemptions for the rescue service. It is believed that the new rules will lead to worsening working conditions with the risk of mass redundancies.
Patrick Falck will also look at changing professions.
– I am absolutely sure that many of my colleagues will follow the same path, he says.
“Exception not possible”
According to Magnus Krantz, ombudsman for the National Association of Firefighters, the parties must try to negotiate an exception.
– We see that an exception needs to be introduced for the community-supporting functions, which include the rescue service, he says to TV4.
SKR, which represents the employers, emphasizes that an exception is not possible.
– It is not a free choice to follow the directive, says Jeanette Hedberg, head of negotiations at SKR The evening paper.
