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The region itself cannot decide to implement the agreement for its staff, but must send a request to the Swedish Municipalities and Regions (SKR). According to them, the decision must be made quickly. If you see previous requests from other regions, it has been up to a day before the decision is made.
Jenny Olsson, department head for Vårdförbundet in the county, says the union wanted an application submitted before Christmas. Health director Brita Winsa disagrees and says the assessment at the time was that it was not relevant.
– We have a very difficult situation now, says Brita Winsa.
Now, regional councilor Peter Olofsson says it is time to submit a request for a crisis settlement, which among other things means that the working day can be increased to 48 hours per week, or a maximum of 192 hours in four weeks . At the same time, the staff receives compensation of 220 percent of the hourly wage.
– It is definitely a serious situation, we are on a completely different level in terms of the spread of the infection now than before, says Peter Olofsson (S).
What is the most important thing that a crisis agreement means?
– That we can leave out the laws on working hours, we can use more staff, at the same time that they get more compensation.
How much will this cost for the Västerbotten Region?
– It is clear that it is not optimal for the economy. The day will come when we will pay, but that is not the most important thing. We must resolve the situation now, says Peter Olofsson (C).
– This is not something we do lightly. It will not affect all operations, but the infection and intensive care clinic at Norrland University Hospital and the wards serving covid patients in Skellefteå, says Tommy Svensson, acting regional director.
