Newsletter May -20
Below is a selection of questions that the Saco-S Association has worked with during the spring.
The Saco-S Association has acted in the work with Vision 2030 and where we have, among other things, driven the issue of adding the concept of "sustainable working life" in the last of the five goals found in Goal 2025, which we interpret that the employer also supports. About two and a half years ago, a central agreement was signed between Saco-S and the Swedish Employers Agency to highlight and work on this. We believe that in continuing to strengthen working conditions and the working environment, it is important to try to influence and develop "indicators" of what can contribute to a sustainable working life at the university.
At the end of May and the beginning of June, the trade unions, including the Saco-S Association, will participate in the recruitment of new deans. We will conduct interviews with the candidates proposed by each faculty nomination group. Then, before the decisions that the vice-chancellor will make, we will share our views on the candidates concerned. You are welcome to contact us with comments and questions regarding this process.
During the spring, the employer determined redundancies at the Maritime Academy corresponding to four full-time positions. On the part of the Saco-S Association we disagreed with the employer about this. In our opinion, the investigation that forms the basis of the proposal for redundancy in an unfortunate manner locks itself to 400 FTE (full time equivalent students). It also takes too little account of issues concerning the working environment / working conditions, future skills provision, educational quality, university brand, etc. The study is based on the premise that the financial situation at the university is more strained than the annual accounts for 2019 actually showed. We therefore believe that the employer should have waited to raise the issue of redundancy to August / September of this year, as a national survey on maritime training is currently being conducted (on behalf of, among others, the vice-chancellor) and as the number of applicants for the autumn intake has increased. After disagreement with the Saco-S Association in both local and central negotiations, the employer went ahead and established a priority order (which is the next step in such a process). Even at this stage of the process, we argued that the previously decided labor shortage should be reconsidered. In addition, we highlighted that external conditions have changed and the economy seems to have slowed down, which usually means increasing student numbers.
The payroll process for 2018 (RALS2018), which in relation to salary criteria was based on performance and responsibility during the period 2017-10-03 - 2018-09-30, was unfortunately not fully completed until mid-February 2020. For the almost sixty members who disagreed with the employer about the proposal for a new salary, the decision on a new salary was preceded by a so-called central consultation in which the Employers' Agency, Saco-S and SULF centrally participated - a tool that has previously not been used more than at a few universities. In the local agreement that we finally signed, there was an appendix (Appendix 2) containing a number of joint comments aimed at improving the quality of the payroll process in the future. In addition, we in the Saco-S Association made sure to add another appendix (Appendix 3) to the protocol, where we highlight some of our own comments that we do not have the same view as the employer. This appendix also contains a shorter text in which we highlight the problems we have seen in the payroll process in a more comprehensive way. You can access these two attachments via the following link (in Swedish only):
In the latter part of April, the Saco-S Association signed an agreement on the wage setting process for 2019 (RALS2019), ie for the new salary that will be based on the period 2018-10-01 - 2019-09-30 and which will apply retroactively from October 1, 2019. The said agreement does not differ more than marginally from the agreement that applied to the previous year. However, a few lines have been added that clarify the actual conduct of the conversation due to the situation prevailing with the Corona virus. In the agreement there is as an appendix a timetable which states when your manager is expected to give feedback in the salary setting talk. The manager justifies and offers proposals for the new salary. If you agree and you sign an agreement, your new salary will be paid no later than the following month. Regardless of how far the salary setting process has come at your institution / department / unit, it should be completed by August 2020 at the latest. Thereafter, a collective bargaining will take place in September for those members who declined the employer's proposal for a new salary. You reach the said agreement via the link below (in Swedish only):
When the employer justifies its proposal for a new salary, it must take its starting point in the salary policy with the salary criteria that applied at the university up to 2019-09-30. Please note that we have agreed on a new salary policy and new salary criteria, but they will not apply until the next pay review (RALS2020). You can access the "old" payroll policy that applies to the 2019 payroll review via the following link, directly under the top heading of the page (in Swedish only):
https://lnu.se/medarbetare/anstalld-vid-lnu/lon-och-ersattningar2/lonerevision/
Last year, therefore, a new salary policy with new salary criteria was decided at the university. In that work, a first proposal was largely changed according to the views of the Saco-S Association. For example, the Saco-S Association claimed that we did not consider it appropriate with locally decided salary criteria at the unit / institution / faculty level, but that the priorities of existing salary criteria can be made if these are clearly communicated with the parties concerned for the coming salary setting period. The new salary policy and the new salary criteria apply to salaries to be paid (retroactively) from 1 October 2020 (RALS2020) and to be based on performance and responsibility during the period 2019-10-01 - 2020-09-30. The salary criteria in the new salary policy are divided into a general part, a part for teachers / researchers, a part for TA staff and a part for managers. You reach the new salary criteria via the following link:
During the spring, the Saco-S Association had scheduled two member meetings - one in Swedish and one in English, as well as a meeting addressed to doctoral students at the university. Unfortunately, these were postponed due to the situation with the Corona virus. However, we expect to implement them in the fall - but we may come back with dates and the form of them.
We gratefully receive suggestions and comments on what Saco-S can work on.
SINCERELY
Board of Saco-S Association at Linnaeus University
Jan Andersson and Gunilla Gunnarsson (chair and vice-chair)
Updated: 2020-05-25