News from ST at GU June 2023

How do you feel about the salary-setting process at your workplace? Before going on a well-deserved vacation, please take a few minutes to fill out the ST survey that was recently sent to all members. It will help us in the upcoming work of negotiating the new local salary agreement for GU employees.

Remember: If you have general questions about your terms of employment, the easiest way is to contact ST Direkt on 0771–555 444 or stdirekt@st.org. If you have more local questions, you can e-mail st@gu.se and we will respond as soon as we can. You can also talk to our workplace representatives. More information can be found on the section's website.

The new salaries have been paid – we hope you got your follow-up dialogue?...

By now, all employees at the University of Gothenburg have received their new salary, including a retroactive payment from 1 October 2022. You should also have had a chance to discuss the new salary, and the reason for it, with your manager – the so-called follow-up dialogue. However, this is sometimes forgotten, and employees only receive a written notice. We at ST want to know how this works at your workplace and would like you to answer the survey that was sent out recently by email. Please contact us at STloneenkat@gu.se if you haven’t received it!

... and we welcome your input to the upcoming collective bargaining process!

During summer, negotiations are held on a central level between the Union for Civil Servants (Fackförbundet ST) and the Swedish Agency for Government Employers (Arbetsgivarverket) regarding salary development and other working conditions. When the central agreements are in place, local work begins at GU. It is important that our elected representatives know what you as a member think is most important. In autumn, we will have dialogues with our members in our coffee meetings Fika med facket and other events. Take the opportunity to make your voice heard! More information will come on the website, by email, and in the newsletter.

Read about ST's negotiation process (Swedish only): För dig inom staten | ST

Settlement in the Swedish Labour Court in the case where ST sued GU

At the end of last year, the University of Gothenburg was sued by ST in the Swedish Labour Court, in connection with a dismissal and reassignment investigation concerning a professor. The matter has attracted attention outside Sweden and GU has received extensive international criticism for its actions. Now, the matter has resulted in a settlement. An important prerequisite for this was that the Swedish Research Council decided that our member's research project should be transferred to another university, which in turn has offered our member a permanent position. For GU, the settlement will most likely entail higher costs than if GU had lost the case. In addition to GU losing a fully funded research project and a productive employee, our member's home department at GU must contribute SEK 3.7 million from its research budget to further finance our member's continued activities at another university.

Changes in the occupational pension agreement, PA16

The parties have agreed on amendments to the state occupational pension agreement, PA16, which entails improvements for state employees born in 1987 or earlier. In short, state employees born between 1966 and 1987 receive an additional pension provision of 1.5 percent, while those born in 1965 or earlier receive an additional pension provision of 0.5 percent if they are not granted partial pension. This means that many government employees receive more money when they retire. In addition, state employees born in 1987 or earlier will earn an occupational pension until the age of 69, instead of until the age of 65.

Read more about the occupational pension agreement on ST's website (Swedish only): Facklig framgång ger högre pension till statsanställda | Fackförbundet ST

ST co-organizes a conference on doctoral students' conditions

The annual Eurodoc Conference was held this year in Uppsala on 7–8 June, and was organized by, among others, ST, and the Swedish National Union of Students (SFS). The programme focused on sustainable conditions for doctoral students and other early career researchers (ECRs). If you are an ECR, or if you meet doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in your job, there were many interesting topics, such as equal opportunities in the academic career and a sustainable academic psychosocial work environment. 

The Eurodoc conference was streamed on YouTube, and recordings are available at: https://www.youtube.com/@Eurodoc/streams.

Coffee with your union representative (Fika med facket)

If you want to discuss terms of employment, salary, or work environment, or maybe just find out what the union does – take the opportunity your representatives at Coffee with the union at ST's office at Karl Gustavsgatan 12B, floor 4. Coffee with your union representative is open to both members and others, so feel free to invite a colleague, or several. In autumn 2023, choose between the following dates: 

• Wednesday, 4 October at 4–5 p.m.
• Wednesday, 1 November at 4–5 p.m. (NB: digital; a link will be provided at a later time)

• Wednesday, 6 December at 4–5 p.m.

Negotiation of the local work environment agreement

During autumn, the unions at GU will negotiate with the GU administration on an update of the local work environment agreement. We welcome feedback from all employees, especially those who work with occupational safety and health issues in your employment or as an AMO, HAMO, or LAMK member. Contact st@gu.se if you would like to discuss further or leave comments.

You haven't forgotten to change your payment method, have you?

Since 1 December 2022, you can no longer pay the union fee to ST via salary deduction. If you have not changed to direct debit or e-invoice, you will therefore receive a paper invoice from the union. It is important that you pay this so that you do not risk involuntarily leaving the union. If you have any questions about your membership fee, you can contact ST Direkt on 0771–555 444 or stdirekt@st.org