September: News from Ingenjören in English
Photo: Getty images
Scroll down or click on the list to go straight to the part you want to read:
Engineers of Sweden awards one million to researchers
In 2025, the Engineers of Sweden’s Environmental Fund will award 5 million kronor for research and thesis aimed at improving the physical environment.
Recently, four research groups at KTH received 250,000 kronor each for research preliminary studies:
- Rebecka Ericsdotter Engström and Joseph Mulligan are working within the Viable Cities program to support cities in the climate transition. They are investigating how climate adaptation can be synchronized with emission reductions, and how to ensure that the work continues even in a crisis.
- Katarina Larsen, Sara Borgström and Anja Moum Rieser are working on a project that focuses on new knowledge about urban green spaces.
- Markus Larsson, Jens Ergon and Göran Finnveden are studying the effect of taxation on different income groups and whether taxes can be used as a strategy for climate action.
- Ingrid Campo Ruiz and Emma Riese are investigating how climate change and poverty are linked by using machine learning and global data.
In addition to the scholarships for researchers, SEK 3 million is also being awarded in the form of 60 scholarships of SEK 50,000 each to engineering students. The majority are awarded at six technical colleges. However, students at other colleges can also apply for a scholarship in the autumn, before their degree project.
The awarding from the Environmental Fund rotates between the technical colleges and depends on the availability of funds. Last year, the scholarships went to Luleå and Chalmers. This year, the scholarships go to KTH and Lund.
The money comes from Swedbank Humanfond, where savers choose a cause that receives 2 percent of the fund value. One of the recipients is the Swedish Engineers’ Environmental Fund, which this year can award SEK 5 million – SEK 2 million to researchers and SEK 3 million to students.
Read the entire article in Swedish: Sveriges Ingenjörers miljöfond delade ut en miljon till forskare
•
•
Intense negotiations in the government sector
The negotiations on agreements in the government sector are now in an intensive final phase. The employers and unions have submitted their respective demands to each other and in mid-September regular negotiations began. The new agreements should be in place on October the 1st.
The negotiations concerns engineers at government agencies, universities and state-owned public utilities. Around 12,500 members of Engineers of Sweden are affected.
The employer party is the Swedish Agency for Government Employers, SAGE, (Arbetsgivarverket) and the union parties are Saco-S (which includes Engineers of Sweden), OFR and Seko.
One dividing line between the parties is that SAGE does not want any cost increases. Another dividing line is influence. SAGE wants the employer to decide if the parties do not agree locally – for example, about the organisation of working hours or when the salary revision should be carried out (read their demands against Saco-S 2025 here).
However, Engineers of Sweden wants to see more influence for individual members, for example to make individual agreements about time off, compensation or other conditions. Travel time compensation is another issue that the union’s members have brought into the discussion.
Read about Saco-S requirements here: Här är kraven när avtalen för staten omförhandlas
SAGE also wants to extend the vacation period, so that vacations can be scheduled from May to September instead of June to August as is the case today.
Another demand is that the compensation for medical care that state employees receive today should be abolished.
The negotiations should be completed by October 1st. That is when OFR’s and Seko’s agreements expire. Saco-S, on the other hand, has an indefinite agreement with SAGE. If no agreement is reached, the old agreement will continue to apply.
Read the entire article in Swedish: Nu är den statliga avtalsrörelsen igång
•
•
Back after parental leave? New ruling clarifies your rights
According to the Parental Leave Act (Föräldraledighetslagen), you have extra strong protection during your parental leave. For example, you have the right to a salary revision and you also have the right to return to your old job.
But how far does that right extend? What happens if you return to the same job, but with completely new tasks? This summer, a dispute was settled in the Swedish Labour Court, AD, which clarifies this issue.
The case concerned a woman who was employed as a social welfare officer in a municipality. When she contacted her employer about returning after a period of parental leave, she was told that she would now be handling new types of cases – which she had no previous experience with and did not want to work with.
The woman thought this was a disadvantage according to the Parental Leave Act, while the employer argued that it was just a question of new work tasks.
In the judgment, the AD states that this was a disadvantage. Even though the work tasks are similar and use the same working method, the municipality has a system where administrators specialize in different areas. Thus, she should have been able to return to the area where she had her specialist knowledge.
– The judgment is important and clarifies what rights you have as a parent on parental leave, especially if you have a job that requires specialist knowledge, emphasizes Magnus Bäckström, lawyer at Engineers of Sweden.
Read the entire article in Swedish: Tillbaka efter föräldraledighet? Ny dom klargör dina rättigheter
•
•
More job advertisements on Ingenjören’s website
Since this summer, Ingenjören has a new structure for job advertisements which means that the number of advertisements has increased from 200–300 to over 1,300 – and there will be more.
– The idea is that it will become the largest job site for engineers, says Bjarne Kristiansen at Annonssäljarna, the company behind the service.
The job advertisements on Ingenjören’s website contains a summary of the most in-demand professions right now. To see all jobs, click on the magnifying glass by the search field, or on Lediga jobb in the menu.
It is also possible to filter by location, profession and free text – then you select a filter and then click on the magnifying glass, which acts as a search button.
The filters are not yet fully tuned, but will be updated continuously.
Read the entire article in Swedish: Nu finns fler platsannonser på Ingenjörens sajt
More to read in English
All articles in Ingenjören that have been translated into English
The guide from Ingenjören in English (magazine from 2024) – About Engineers of Sweden and the Swedish labour market model
Information in English from Engineers of Sweden (including button for Google Translate-version of the entire Engineers of Sweden website)
