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Fler tjänstemän sägs upp på grund av coronakrisen
Allt fler varsel leder nu till uppsägningar – inte minst i Stockholm, Göteborg och Malmö. Det visar en koll som Kollega har gjort bland Unionens regionkontor.
I kölvattnet av coronakrisen har tiotusentals anställda varslats om uppsägning och riskerar därmed att förlora jobbet. Nu visar siffror från flera håll, däribland Arbetsförmedlingen och TRR, att varslen redan ett till faktiska uppsägningar och att många tjänstemän blivit av med jobben.
Läs mer Trots corona: "Massa jobb att söka"
Bilden bekräftas av Unionens kontor i de tre storstadsregionerna.
Unionen i Göteborg har haft en hel del uppsägningsförhandlingar, enligt regionchefen Pierre Svensson.
– Vi hart fått in 20 nya ärenden per dag jämfört med 20 per vecka före corona. Jag bedömer det ändå som att det är en hanterbar nivå och inte minst i jämförelse med alla varsel som lagts, säger han.
Regionkontoret förbereder nu sin organisation för att uppsägningarna kommer att öka framöver. Men det finns positiva signaler.
– Förändringen av korttidsavtalet innebär att arbetsgivarna numera kan få 80 procent, att fler företag kommer att klarar sig.
De branscher som är särskilt drabbade är handel, hotell- och restaurang, följt av konsult- och bemanningsbranschen.
Även Jeannette Forss, regionchef på Unionen i Stockholm, konstaterar att förhandlingar om arbetsbrist ökat under mars och april. Däremot är det ingen specifik bransch som sticker ut.
– Vår bedömning är att det är väldigt spritt. Just nu har vi fokus på att hantera ärendetrycket, säger Jeanette Forss.
Unionen region Sydväst (där Malmö ingår) vittnar om fler uppsägningar och flaggar samtidigt för att det finns ett mörkertal i och med att många ärenden registrerade som korttidsavtal senare lett till arbetsbrist.
Även regioner utanför storstäderna vittnar om en ökad andel förhandlingar om arbetsbrist även om det i de flesta av Unionens regioner fortfarande främst rör ärenden om korttidsarbete.
Unionens regioner:
Unionen har 18 regioner fördelade runt om i landet. Kollega har sökt samtliga och fått svar av 17. Frågan vi ställde var om de varsel som lagts med anledning av coronakrisen gått över till uppsägningsförhandlingar.
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No guaranteed wages in Northvolt's US reconstruction
Northvolt's financial troubles continue. Now, the battery manufacturer's hopes rest on a reconstruction in the USA. However, the process means that the state guaranteed wages – lönegaranti – will not apply to Union members.
The clock is ticking for the struggling battery manufacturer Northvolt. During the autumn, debts have piled up with the Swedish Enforcement Authority, and recently several of the company's major shareholders withdrew from negotiations for new financing. Since its inception in 2015, Northvolt has raised SEK 110 billion, but now the money is almost gone. According to CEO Peter Carlsson, they need to raise just over SEK 10 billion in the coming year, but so far the search for new financing has been fruitless.
Maintaining control with Chapter 11
Therefore, Northvolt has now taken the next step to save the company. The management has applied for a so-called Chapter 11 procedure, a type of reconstruction process in the USA that was recently used by the airline SAS. One possible explanation for the battery manufacturer turning to an American court is that it is considered doubtful that Northvolt would be granted a Swedish reconstruction, as it requires the company to be fundamentally viable. Another advantage of Chapter 11 is that the management is likely to retain control over the company.
No guaranteed wages for employees
However, there is a downside – for the employees. In an American process, Northvolt's employees will not be able to benefit from the Swedish state guaranteed wages - lönegaranti - according to several legal experts contacted by Kollega.
– The Swedish state does not pay any guaranteed wages if the company has not initiated a reconstruction or bankruptcy in Sweden. If Northvolt only initiates a Chapter 11 procedure in the USA, all the company's obligations to employees in Sweden to pay wages and other compensation according to the employment contract remain, says Hans Andersson, chairman of the Swedish Association of Restructuring and Bankruptcy Administrators.
If Union members at Northvolt do not receive their wages, the union can, however, request the company to be declared bankrupt in a Swedish court.
– If Northvolt does not pay wages on time, the employee or the union can collect the wages through the Enforcement Authority and ultimately request that the company be declared bankrupt if the wages are not settled, explains Hans Andersson.
Unionen: "Will collect unpaid wages"
Filip Vujcic, a union lawyer at Unionen, also assesses that members cannot benefit from the state guaranteed wages when a corporate reconstruction is initiated in the USA.
– This means that Unionen, in the event of future unpaid wages, needs to safeguard its members' rights through wage collection. According to Swedish bankruptcy rules, a corporate reconstruction in the USA does not prevent a member's bankruptcy application from being examined in a Swedish court, he says.
Will Unionen request Northvolt to be declared bankrupt if members do not receive their wages?
– Unionen does not comment on that question at this time.
*In wage collection, Unionen usually sends a demand letter to the employer, who has seven days to pay the wages. If the wages are still not paid, the employer receives a payment order via service. If that does not help either, Unionen sends a bankruptcy application to the district court.
This text has been translated with the help of AI.
CHAPTER 11
- American reconstruction process aimed at giving a company a chance to continue with all or parts of its operations. Normally, no administrator is appointed, and the debtor continues to run the business themselves.
- The company must present a plan that must be approved by the court. The plan aims to determine which debts the debtor should pay and which debts should be written off. The plan also provides the opportunity to terminate unfavorable contracts and reorganize the business so that it can continue to operate profitably.
- One advantage of turning to a court in the USA instead of using the Swedish reconstruction process is that a Chapter 11 has an impact in several countries. If a group has companies in different countries, they are all drawn under the same process instead of carrying it out in each country and risking different outcomes.
