On Monday, Swedish trade union Unionen announced that they were withdrawing from negotiations for a collective agreement with Klarna. According Unionen, the main point of contention has been the issue of employee influence in the workplace.
– Klarna's position is that, for reasons that are incomprehensible to us, they do not want to sign an agreement. Their point of view being that a collective agreement hinders employee influence, while our perspective is exactly the opposite, said Martin Wästfelt, Unionen's chief negotiator, to Kollega.
Now, Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer are taking the next step after the failed contract negotiations. In order to secure an agreement with the payment service company, the unions have both announced a strike.
Notice of Strike
Sen Kanner:
– We have the right to impact decisions that concern us as employees, but this cannot be achieved without a collective agreement. Klarna has no motivation or willingness to involve us, the employees, in the decision-making, says Sen Kanner, the club chairman at Klarna to Kollega .
Efforts to establish a collective agreement at Klarna have been ongoing for a long time. Unionen members formed a club at Klarna three years ago with the aim of securing such an agreement.
– This is a tough action that we're taking, but we believe it's necessary. For Unionen, it's self-evident that companies operating in Sweden have collective agreements. Our hope now is that Klarna will come to their senses and sign the agreement, preventing the conflict from escalating, says Martin Wästfelt.
Do you feel you have the support of your members?
– Yes, we do. However, this is a challenging situation, as strikes are not common in the Swedish labor market.
Mediators in the dispute will be appointed shortly by the Medlingsinstitutet (Mediation Institute).
For Unionen, there is intense work ahead.
– We will have activities focused on explaining and supporting the club as much as possible and recruiting new members, says Martin Wästfelt.
The Klarna club is now working tirelessly to provide information and answer questions from employees. Sen Kanner states that there were already some who questioned the purpose of a collective agreement, but most reactions are positive.
– Many are very supportive, she notes.
If no agreement is reached between the parties, the strike will take effect on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at 10:30 AM.
Despite the two-week notice period, Sen Kanner believes that the strike will indeed occur.
– I hope they will meet us before the strike starts, but to be realistic, I don't think they will. However, I hope they do it before we go on strike.
THE NOTICE
Complete work stoppage for employees employed at the head office in Stockholm, Sveavägen 46. At the same time, these tasks are declared blocked, meaning that no one may perform tasks covered by the work stoppage.
Prohibition on hiring or new recruitment aimed at performing blocked work.
Notice of further strike actions will be taken against Klarna Bank AB if they attempt to circumvent the conflict and its effects. This includes the hiring of labor and/or the engagement of contractors if it is done with the purpose of bypassing the conflict.
