Five construction workers died in December 2023 when the elevator they were in fell 30 meters to the ground.
On Wednesday, the verdict came in: Solna District Court acquitted all three defendants, a CEO and two elevator fitters.
"We need to analyze the verdict before we can go into details, but this raises questions about whether the legal system has the competence and capacity to handle workplace accidents," says Kim Söderström in a press release.
Part of a larger systemic problem
Pelle Sunvisson is a board member of the trade union Solidariska byggare, which organizes migrant workers. He sees the verdict as the result of a larger systemic problem in the Swedish labor market.
You have workplaces with many subcontractors and workers who speak many different languages, without anyone having overall responsibility for making this work.
Pelle Sunvisson made early contact with the mother of one of the deceased construction workers, who was from Ukraine. He describes how the death of her son could make life difficult for her in old age in the war-torn country.
In Ukraine, there is no real welfare, and that means that children have a kind of responsibility to provide for their parents.
LO: "No one takes responsibility"
He is supported by LO chairman Johan Lindholm.
The further down the chain you go, the darker and blacker it gets. No one takes responsibility.
We have been saying this for many years. It is time to put an end to this Wild West culture that exists in the Swedish labor market.
Jessica Löfström, founder of the company Ansvar Säkerhet, which has examined workplace crime in the construction industry, is also critical of the large number of subcontractors. She points to it as the biggest reason for poorer workplace safety.
Then you lose control. It's common knowledge. One could wish that the main contractor and the client took greater responsibility, given that construction work is a risky job.
