GOOD FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS

Earlier this week firefighters declared that they left the big union Kommunal (a part of LO, the union branch of the Social Democratic Party) in order to start their own union. I both congratulate and applaud them. Smaller unions, basically containing people who work at the same places with roughly the same things, are a lot better than the large super unions that exist in Sweden today. Better, both for the economy as a whole (as sympathy strikes - that is, when people who have contracts go on strike in order for a totally different group of people to get better contracts - will hopefully be fewer) and, perhaps more importantly, better for the union members.

In the TV interviews given with representatives for the firefighters their reasons for leaving Kommunal was explained. One reason was that they didn't want a union that was a part of party politics. An understandable view - after all, it's unlikely that all of the firefighters support the same party (the Social Democrats), and those who don't probably don't want to see their membership fees spent on advertisement for that party.

The second, and probably strongest, reason was the way Kommunal handled their negotiations last time out. After first reaching a proper deal Kommunal realised that firefighters are usually men, and that their politically correct focus on their female members appeared unserious if the firefighters had as large an increase of wage as the nurses. Therefore, even though it was a year or so left on the old contract, they negotiated a new contract in which the wage increases for the firefighters were lower than in their old deal. Brilliant.

Unsurprisingly I'm not very fond of the unions. But I have nothing against the concept itself - however unions should be smaller in size, and should not loose sight of their raison d'être: improving working conditions for their members. Engaging in party politics, is generally not helping that cause.

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