2024-09-27 12:20:37
“We are pulling out all the stops to make sure that we can offer these workers other jobs in the region, or for that matter other jobs in Sweden, precisely because this is a unique talent that Sweden needs,” Mats Persson, employment Sweden and the integration minister, told TT newswire at the start of a trip to Skellefteå, the city where Northvolt is located, to visit representatives from the company, local council, and unions.
Persson said he sees “a risk” that non-EU workers among the 1,600 workers Northvolt has said it plans to lay off, will not be able to find work within the three-month grace period for those with unemployment allowance and had to leave. the country.
He said he hopes his trip to Skellefteå will help him find new ways the Swedish government can help the region in finding new workers.
“I’m going there to participate in joint efforts that take place in the region, where the region and the state work together, and, of course, to listen to the image of the representatives of the workers,” he said.
Kim Bodén, head of negotiations in Skellefteå region, told TT that the new 28,480 kronor minimum salary for a work permit is a big obstacle to the use of Northvolt workers to fill the labor gaps in the region even though there is a collective salaries for low-skilled positions. such as being a nurse’s aide.
“We think they should re-examine those laws,” he said. “We need workers in the public sector, and we have set a minimum wage in the collective agreement, and we think it would be wise to use that.”
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Persson, however, defended the decision to introduce a salary threshold for work permits, saying that the threshold was introduced to prevent exploitation of foreign workers. He added, though, that he “welcomes discussion on exactly what level of pay” should be set as a threshold.
He also admits that it is frustrating that those with a work permit only have three months to find a job after being unemployed before they leave Sweden, but he says that on the other hand, they lose their jobs in the highest point. demand for labor.
“They also meet a strong labor market and have a good chance to get another job and as a result are able to stay in Sweden,” he said. “There is nothing we want more than that hard-working people from other countries should make their future in our country.”
In an opinion piece earlier this week, The local editor of Sweden argued that Sweden should consider extending the three-month deadline to retain key foreign talent, help workers left behind in the country, and align Sweden with Denmark and Norway, which both offer six months .
A spokesperson for the immigration minister told us that the government is taking care of the situationbut not considering extending the deadline.
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