The government's investigator proposes exemptions for healthcare, social services, and schools from the obligation to report individuals residing in Sweden without a permit.
The chairman of the Swedish Association of Health Professionals, Sineva Ribeiro, believes that the trade unions have made a difference with their criticism of the plans for new legislation.
Informing does not belong in healthcare and we have consistently highlighted the risks to society as a whole. We have just gone through a pandemic and it seems that the investigator confirms what we have highlighted; that health is a human right and that the right to care must remain.
Saco's Göran Arrius welcomes the proposal – but he thinks it is unclear who is actually covered by the reporting obligation.
But it may become clearer when we have examined the proposal more closely, he says.
"No talk of sanctions"
Arrius thinks it is good that the responsibility for the reporting obligation lies at the authority level.
And we can establish that there is no talk of sanctions, he says.
According to the investigator, six authorities will be covered by the information obligation: the Employment Service, the Enforcement Authority, the Social Insurance Agency, the Pensions Agency, the Prison and Probation Service, and the Tax Agency.
Now we will turn to the designated authorities and hear how our members there reason, says Arrius.
The chairman of the Swedish Teachers' Union, Anna Olskog, calls the message a victory.
"Our resistance has yielded results", she says in a written comment.
Concern at Save the Children
Save the Children's Sweden chief, Sara Damber, is worried that the exemptions may be changed in the future.
We feel a concern that there may be restrictions, she says.
She continues:
We are still critical of the law, but we welcome the fact that it seems to be comprehensive exemptions. It would have had serious consequences if there had not been these exemptions.
