Swedish Municipal Workers' Union
| Full name | Swedish Municipal Workers' Union |
|---|---|
| Native name | Svenska Kommunalarbetareförbundet |
| Founded | 1910 |
| Members | 570,000 |
| Affiliation | LO, ITF, IUF, PSI |
| Key people | Ylva Thörn, general secretary |
| Office location | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Country | Sweden |
| Website | www.kommunal.se |
The Swedish Municipal Workers' Union, Svenska Kommunalarbetareförbundet, is the largest trade union in Sweden with 570 000 members as of 2005, it was created 1910. It is commonly referred to as Kommunal ("Municipal").
The majority of members are employed by varying local level municipalities. Farm workers and co-operatives are also commonly found in this union. Some professions that this union represents are:
- Childcare employees
- Bus drivers
- Ambulance drivers
- Firefighters
- Elderly care workers
The union leader since 1996 is Ylva Thörn.
As of 2005, 80% of the union's members are female. A third is under 30 years of age. This is attributed to the representation of welfare jobs such as child and elderly care workers.
In recent history, this union has called two major strikes.
- From September 28 to October 20, 1995 a strike was called that affected the sports industry workers in Sweden greatly. major league soccer and hockey was not able to start until the issue was resolved.
- Another strike was called in 2003, this time mainly affecting childcare workers. The Firefighters got a worse deal after the strike, so there is talk among them to form an independent union.
Kommunal is a member of International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association (IUF) and Public Services International (PSI).
