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Trots nya jobb: Fortsatt ovisshet i Kiruna
Kiruna utlovas minst 120 nya jobb för att ersätta jobb som försvinner när Radiotjänst läggs ned. Men den satsningen räcker knappast – i dag jobbar 280 personer på företaget.
Om, vilket regeringen föreslagit, radio- och tv-licensen ersätts med en public service-avgift som hanteras av Skatteverket blir Radiotjänst överflödiga.
Därför kommer nu regeringen med ett löfte om en satsning i Kiruna. I det ingår en förstärkning av Lantmäteriets verksamhet, etablering av ett kontor för Statens servicecenter och utveckling av Skatteverkets verksamhet.
– Regeringen menar allvar med att hela landet ska leva. Därför kommer vi att ge i uppdrag till ett antal myndigheter att förbereda denna utvidgning. Detta för att Kiruna inte ska drabbas av nedläggningen av Radiotjänst, sade civilminister Ardalan Shekarabi i ett pressmeddelande.
August Tapojärvi, ordförande i Unionenklubben på Radiotjänst, är glad åt beskedet, men konstaterar att de 120 jobben som utlovas inte kommer vara nog.
– Vi kan inte ta något för givet, vi måste fortsätta arbeta för flera jobb. Från fackets sida kommer vi att driva på för att hitta nya jobb i den kommersiella sektorn, säger han.
– Vi kan väldigt mycket. Vi skulle kunna bli ett callcenter, kundtjänst, datalagring eller jobba med sälj. Det är bara byta flagga utanför huset så kör vi.
Av dagens 280 anställda är 120 heltidare. Övriga jobbar på timmar. För många av dessa handlar det om första jobbet efter skolan, andra är nyinflyttade till Sverige.
På så vis är det här en väldigt viktig arbetsplats. Några motsvarande arbetstillfällen finns inte i Kiruna.
Går allt enligt regeringens planer ska avvecklingen av Radiotjänst börja 2019 och avslutas 2020.
– Regeringens satsning är avgörande för Kiruna. Det är jättestort här uppe. Men samtidigt finns ovisshet hos våra medlemmar. Jobben är inte vigda åt oss, utan vi kommer att få söka dem som alla andra, säger August Tapojärvi.
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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.
