Many would not report – despite the risk of imprisonment • The union: “The law will be a disaster”
There is great opposition to the proposal on the duty of information – the so-called whistleblower law by critics.
According to a survey by the Academic Union SSR, six out of ten social workers will not report the undocumented regardless of the punishment they risk – even prison.
– The law will be a disaster for Swedish social services, says Heike Erkers, chairman of the Academic Union SSR.
The proposal on the duty of information is about public employees being obliged to report if they come into contact with people who are staying illegally in Sweden. The issue is now being investigated and is intended to apply to employees in schools, social services and healthcare, among others.
But the bill faces strong opposition – not least from social workers. According to a survey by the Academic Union SSR, two-thirds of the social secretaries are completely against the obligation to provide information.
Many would not report – despite the risk of imprisonment
So far, there is no proposal for a penalty if the public employee chooses not to report. But already now, 6 out of 10 social workers say that they will not report an undocumented person, regardless of whether it is prison they would risk.
– It shows strong support that this law should not be in place. That it will be a disaster for Swedish social services. And that our members stand up for the professional ethics on which the profession rests and will also take the consequences that are needed, says Academics Association president Heike Erkers.
“A no must be a no”
In the government, it is Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall (M) who is responsible for the issue of information obligations. This is how she comments on the academics’ opposition to the bill:
– I fully understand that it arouses strong emotions. At the same time, it is the case that this is about the public sector having to act together around regulated immigration. A yes should be a yes, but a no must also be a no.