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It started with a motion of three members of the SD, with the proposal to introduce routines to ensure that all those who work in the care of the elderly in the city of Gothenburg have sufficient knowledge of Swedish. The background was, among other things, a report by Kommunal that showed that deficiencies in the Swedish language cause concern and other problems.
Before being considered by the municipal board, the Social Democrats did not choose – as is often the case – to reject the SD proposal. Instead, they chose to add the proposal to introduce a language test in relation to employment and expand the proposal to also include employees in school, preschool, leisure and disability.
The crisis made the deficit visible
In the council debate on Thursday night, Agneta Kjaerbeck (SD) noted that the pandemic made the issues that she and the two party colleagues highlighted in their motion even clearer.
– Language skills have not been sufficient during a difficult crisis. Important social functions have been allowed to turn into integration projects. We want to change that, she says.
Jonas Attenius (S) admitted during the debate that the Social Democrats took these issues too lightly during the time of the party in power and that the importance of Swedish knowledge has now been reassessed.
– For us, it is obvious that those who educate our children and care for our elderly must know good Swedish. IVO, Kommunal, KPMG – Everyone has pointed to the problem of language confusion during the pandemic. However, the language requirements are ultimately stopped by the moderates. This indicates a lack of understanding of the situation, he says.
“The moderates put an end to it”
Because he had no hope that the proposal of linguistic requirements would be fulfilled, and affirmed that it was the third time that “the bourgeoisie with the moderates at the head” put an end to the initiative.
Democrats also advocated introducing language requirements or language tests on the job.
– It is surprising that the alliance does not support any proposal to do anything about the situation. We must increase security for our elderly care recipients, says Mariette Risberg (D).
From the side of the alliance, the arguments were that language is important and that demands are already being made today, but that does not mean that there are no problems.
– Can problems be overcome by language tests? No, however, you run the risk of becoming administratively demanding. And just because a person passes a language test, it is not certain that they will meet the business requirements. Determining a person’s suitability is best done by a hiring manager, not a test, says Kalle Bäck (KD).
An unnecessary quick fix
Karin Pleijel (MP) had a similar reasoning.
– A language test is a quick fix that we don’t need here. We would risk losing many who are very good at caring for people if we are faced with this. On the other hand, we must help and support those who need to improve their language skills.
Mattias Tykesson (M) emphasized that the party takes language requirements very seriously, emphasizing that both the 2021 budget and the senior committee had stated that staff should be fluent in Swedish. On the other hand, it does not want to affirm from the central municipal level that it is through a test that linguistic competence must be verified.
– It can be an excellent method to verify knowledge. But we think it should be up to the profession to design how it should look, says Mattias Tykesson (M)
And so it went on. And again.
After just over an hour of variation on the same topic, Martin Wannholt of the Democrats entered the debate.
– I am very disappointed with everyone in the alliance. For me, it is incomprehensible why you cannot support the demand of the Social Democrats. He had moved the city forward, he says.
After the vote, proposals to introduce language requirements and language tests for employment were rejected with votes 43-38.
READ MORE: The municipal board rejected the requirements for language tests
READ MORE: Employees caring for the elderly must be able to read their Swedish.
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