When do your politics decide your salary?
img src: https://svenskjakt.se/start/nyhet/krav-pa-okat-tjanstemannaansvar/
A formal complaint has been lodged against the Kristersson government with the parliamentary Committee on the Constitution (konstitutionsutskottet, KU). The complaint regards a salary directive that allows bigger raises for civil servants who specifically work to implement policies in the Tidö agreement. To opposition parties, the directive disrupts and corrupts the non-political nature of civil servant government work.
The line between politicians and bureaucrats is often muddy. In 2018, a petition was signed by many civil servants working in the Swedish foreign ministry. The signees questioned their obligation to serve their employer, the government, if it did not work to further similar values to their own. Cases of civil servants acting on personal political opinions have been documented in other government departments as well as government services. The nurse who refused to carry out abortions had to quit when she refused to perform work that was part of the job description.
Systembolaget is the state-owned alcohol monopoly and is one of several hybrid government businesses. Their agreement on setting local employees’ salaries was signed last May. Regarding local salaries, one deciding factor is to what degree the employee meets “the goals for the enterprise.” Disagreeing with an employer’s goal, the government’s goal in this case, can apparently affect your salary even selling beer.
Making careers dependent on how much one works to execute a business vision is nothing new in the corporate world. It’s nothing particularly new in the government world either. Connecting it to a wage increase, particularly in these difficult economic times, is an animal of slightly different color. We’ll see what conclusion the constitution committee comes to.