Swedish construction workers have had enough.
Over 18,000 signatures were handed over to the government on Tuesday demanding that it is now time to tackle the crisis in the construction industry.
– Now it’s all over the place, says Johan Lindholm, union chairman at Byggnads.
Hundreds of construction workers gathered on Tuesday in Sergel’s square in Stockholm in a rebellion against the government. The construction trade union and the GS union have also submitted a petition with over 18,000 signatures to Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson (KD) with demands to do something about the building crisis and get more housing construction started.
– Sweden’s construction workers have had enough. We’ve been trying to get the government’s interest for a whole year now, telling them that the industry is going haywire. Now it’s all over the place, says Johan Lindholm, union chairman of the Swedish Building Workers’ Union, Byggnads.
Growing housing shortage and redundancies
Housing construction is down to historically low levels and Statistics Norway predicts just under a third as many construction starts as needed this year. The effect is noticeable on two fronts – the housing shortage is growing at the same time as the industry is in crisis.
The proportion of unemployed people in Byggnad’s social security fund is almost as large as when it was at its worst during the pandemic.
– It is a crisis both in the industry, a deep crisis, and a crisis for housing. There are no homes for people. We have to do something about it, says woodworker Steffe Slottensjö, who was there and demonstrated.
The responsible minister rejects the proposals
The unions’ call to the government is to stimulate companies with money and reward municipalities that grant land for housing construction.
But the infrastructure and housing minister shot down the proposals, insisting that the government’s fight against inflation is the best remedy.
– Introducing building subsidies is not an accurate tool. History shows that. It is inefficient and expensive, and many times it goes to homes that had been built anyway. So it is not something that addresses the underlying causes, which are about structural problems and high inflation, says Andreas Carlson (KD).