Negotiations on the terms in retail and warehouses are underway. On Wednesday, the LO union Handels and the employer party Svensk Handel exchanged their claims.
The question of higher compensation for the many part-time employees who work overtime may become this year's major conflict issue. This is because the entire LO has taken a stand to support primarily Handels, but also Kommunal, which also has many part-time contract workers.
As it is today, part-time employees are only paid for overtime if they work more than what their contract specifies, with a lower compensation rate than the overtime pay for full-time employees.
"The exploitation of part-time workers by employers must come to an end," says Handels' agreement secretary Martin Nyberg in a press release.
The union also wants to raise starting salaries. However, employers want to freeze them at the current level, 25,243 kronor per month for a full-time salary.
"If we raise the thresholds for employment for young people further, trade will not be able to continue being the same important job engine as it is today," says Ola Axelsson, chief negotiator at Svensk Handel, in a press release.
