ST news at GU April 2024

If you have specific questions that you feel you cannot raise with your manager, you can contact the section board at st@gu.se. See below for more information.

Remember: if you have general questions about terms of employment and your ST membership, the easiest way is to contact ST Direkt on 0771-555 444 or stdirekt@st.org. If you have questions about local conditions, you can e-mail st@gu.se and we will respond as soon as we can. You can also talk to our workplace representatives.

Salary negotiations completed

The RALS negotiations have been concluded and ST members will be notified of their new salaries shortly. Despite delays caused by the issues with Primula, the schedule seems to hold, and the new salaries will be paid in May (retroactively from 1 October 2023). Fackförbundet ST is part of the negotiation organization OFR/S.  

Here is the information at a glance:

• In total, OFR/S has negotiated new salaries for about 1,400 GU employees
• The total result came in at just above the benchmark (4.1%)
• The development for doctoral students was also according to the benchmark (read more below)
• We managed to secure improvements for some employee categories that have lagged behind

Early notice does not equate to better salary development

We are receiving questions about why GU employees with other union affiliations receive their new salaries earlier than ST members. The most important explanation is that ST has a cohesive and very thorough process, where we go through the employer's offer, the employees' work history, the salary situation at the University of Gothenburg, and the information we have collected through our salary survey. Against this background, we can meet the employer and make demands for objective salary development. Unlike the model of salary-setting discussions, where the manager decides on the new salary, we have a proper negotiation for each member.

Even if a unit has notified some employees of their new salary at an early stage, this does not mean that the negotiating power of other employees is negatively affected. The local agreement does not contain a strict limit that we can’t exceed. We at ST are confident that our model leads to good transparency at both department and faculty level – something that benefits all employees.

What happens now?

You have the right to a follow-up conversation where your manager informs you of the new salary and the motivation behind it.

If you have questions about the salary negotiations, you are welcome to join our digital “Fika with the union” on 8 May and talk to our representatives.

And if you don't usually fill out our salary survey, we recommend that you do so before the next RALS round. It can make a big difference!

New salary scales for doctoral students

Negotiations on new doctoral student salaries have also been completed. Doctoral students' salaries are not set individually, they are governed by the so-called “salary scales” at the University of Gothenburg, which are common to all trade unions. The outcome of the negotiations on doctoral student scales was about 4.1%, with slightly different distributions at the different levels of the scales. A new aspect this time is that the salaries at levels three and four no longer differ, which means that more money has been allocated to the first, second and third levels of the scales. The unions are pleased with this change, as in practice, there are very few doctoral students who have benefited from the fourth level.

Link to the new salary scales (Swedish only)

New deputies elected at the section's annual meeting

At the ST Section's annual meeting on 20 March, a new board was elected in accordance with the nomination committee's proposal. Several former members were re-elected and the board also gained four new deputies.

The annual meeting began with a light lunch. After the election of the chairman and secretary for the meeting, the section board presented the annual report and financial statements for 2023, and the meeting agreed to grant the board discharge from liability. The proposal for the operational plan for 2024 was then approved, with the addition that the section should have an increased focus on international union solidarity, including through its representatives in ST's branch board within the university and college sector. Furthermore, the annual meeting approved the proposed budget and salary policy program, which means that the section will continue with the existing salary model where the union negotiates the members' salaries.

The meeting elected Anna Nilsson (Vice Chairman), Madelen Hansson, Lars Malmsten, Monica Meller Eldh, Solveig Persson, Filip Radovic, and Helena Rohdén as members for a period of two years (re-election). Lisa Isaksson was elected as deputy member for a period of one year (re-election), as well as Adam Garneij Andersson, Daniel Hermansson, Jessica Lindskog, and Carina Persson (new election). Incumbent Chairman Peter Brandt and board member Michael Segerström have one year left of their terms of office.

Coffee with your union representatives

If you want to discuss your terms of employment, salary, or work environment, or maybe just find out what the union does – take the opportunity to come to our Fika with the union. Fika with the union is open to both members and other GU employees, so feel free to invite your colleagues. Here are upcoming occasions:

• Wednesday 8 May at 3.30-4.30pm, digitally (Zoom-link) Theme: salary issues after the conclusion of RALS negotiations.
• Wednesday 5 June at 3.30-4.30pm, ST's office at Karl Gustavsgatan 12B, floor 4.
• Wednesday 26 June at 3.30-4.30pm, digitally (Zoom-link)

Warm regards, The Section Board at the University of Gothenburg