From 1 October, the regulations for 24-hour rest for employees in Swedish municipalities and regions will change due to the EU Commission reviewing Swedes’ possibilities for recovery. To avoid a lawsuit, the rules must be tightened. This will have far-reaching consequences within the rescue service, as it may lead to staff redundancies. Currently, firefighters and fire chiefs across the country have signed a petition calling for the rescue service to be exempt from the directive’s requirements. Nevertheless, ultimately the working hours must be compatible with the EU directive, and the aim is to protect the working environment.
On 1 October, the regulations for 24-hour rest for employees in the country’s municipalities and regions will be changed. The background is that the EU Commission reviewed the Swedes’ possibilities for recovery. To avoid the EU Commission suing Sweden, the rules must be tightened.
This has far-reaching consequences within the rescue service, where, so far, it is permitted to work 24-hour shifts. It may seem silly, but the 24-hour shifts provide long holidays. They also mean that you spend a lot of working time on one shift, which means fewer opportunities at work.
It has attracted many to the professionaccording to several firefighters that DN has spoken to.
– The employees in the emergency services have adapted their lives to this schedule, it has become something of a lifestyle. The firefighter role is strongly influenced by the schedule, says Henrik Granell, head of HR at Södertörn’s fire service association.
Daniel works as a firefighter in the Stockholm region. He says that the announced schedule change has created chaos within the emergency services.
– It’s rebellion, says Daniel, who wants to emphasize that he is in no way critical of his employer, it is the EU directive he is reacting to.
Currently, nearly 1,300 have firefighters and fire chiefs around the country have signed a call that appeals to Sweden’s municipalities and regions and trade unions to exempt the rescue service from the directive’s requirements.
– We are only 4,000 full-time firefighters in Sweden, so it is quite a considerable number, says Mattis, also a firefighter in the Stockholm region.
What worries both him and Daniel the most are the consequences of the redundancies that the schedule changes may lead to.
– I get really worried, says Mattis and continues:
– In the long run, this could lead to the same type of recruitment problems that exist today in the healthcare and the police. From a geopolitical perspective, this could not come at a worse time. There is a reason why the government wants to re-introduce civil service for the fire brigade. In the end, we worry about Swedish preparedness.
Daniel agrees.
– It is a third party that we will help in a crisis that will occur if many firefighters with competence quit.
Photo: Private
Mattis, as in likeness of Daniel does not want to appear with his last name in DN, points out that firefighters have historically waived salary claims because the schedule has also made it possible to have another job.
– We have a poor salary, but it is possible to draw in a little extra money. All of a sudden they put it aside, he says and mentions a proposal for schedule change that has been circulating where three night shifts are planned in a row.
– There is probably not a person who can claim that it gives better rest than working a 24-hour shift. It’s just stupid. We are not relay doctors, says Mattis.
Jeanette Hedberg, head of negotiations at the department for employer policy at Sweden’s municipalities and regions, says that she is aware that the schedule changes will mess up the life puzzle for many.
– I have all the respect that it is difficult. But basically it is about us having to live up to the EU directive’s minimum requirements and ultimately the aim is to protect the working environment. There is a lot of research in the area and it can be concluded that when working hours are compressed and you work a few very long shifts, it is not good for your health, she says.
The working hours are currently being negotiated for doctors, personal assistants and personnel in the emergency services. Jeanette Hedberg does not want to give any details about how things are going.
– But what we know for sure is that their schedules must be compatible with the EU directive. We have to follow the regulations, it is not a free choice.
HR chief Henrik Granell says that it is difficult to estimate in advance how many firefighters think the issue is so crucial that they will actually quit.
– But we know that it is a very big issue within the rescue service. We are now collaborating within Sweden to find the best schedule possible and it is desirable that we get similar models around the country so that we do not create a lot of personnel transfers.
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