Today, August 27, Efling Union referred its collective agreement dispute with the Association of Companies in Welfare Service (SFV) to the state mediator. Since mid-summer, Efling has had five negotiation meetings with SFV but has not made any progress in the dispute. Therefore, the negotiation committee of Efling saw no other option at its meeting yesterday than to refer the dispute to the state mediator.
Efling demands that the wage policy agreed upon with SA last March be followed and that the same increases will be agreed upon with the state. However, Efling’s main demand in the negotiations is to find a solution to the understaffing and overloading of nursing homes. Efling’s bargaining committee is prepared to agree to long-term collective agreements if the problem is addressed with timed, realistic actions during the contract period.
The growing understaffing in nursing homes has led to an unsustainable situation. In Efling’s claim, it is pointed out that because of this, the workload and stress of the staff has increased continuously, which in turn leads to the risk of increased sickness for a shorter or longer period and burnout at work. Care workers are then increasingly tasked with tasks that health-trained staff should rightfully carry out, but also tasks that are not caring for residents but washing and cleaning, to name a few. For all these reasons, staff have less and less time for productive interactions with nursing home residents, which leads to a reduced quality of life and weaker service.
In this light, Efling calls for the criteria for staffing in nursing homes to be scrutinized and revised, and measures taken to ensure acceptable staffing. Also, to define more clearly which tasks fall under the scope of care staff, as well as other requirements.
“Efling’s negotiation committee is staffed by people who work in nursing homes in the capital area. They have done a lot of preparatory work and prepared a concise set of requirements that revolves around the main problems they face in their workplaces. The requirements are primarily about finding a solution to the understaffing and overburden that prevail far too often in nursing homes. Unfortunately, the conversation with SFV has had little or no progress, although we have been solution-oriented and ready to reach agreements quickly and safely. That’s why Efling’s negotiation committee decided yesterday to refer the dispute to the state mediator,” says Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, chairman of Efling.