Right now, the annual salary revision is underway for the 5,000 civil servants at the government office. Pay is individual and only a fraction of civil servants are politically appointed – most are apolitical and would keep their jobs even if the government were to be replaced.
DN reported on Thursday that the head of administration’s office has sent out a directive to heads of the various ministries, which states how the review should be carried out. The directive states that priority will be given to people working to enforce the content of the Tidö Agreement.
The ST trade union is surprised by the wording, as during the autumn an agreement was made with the employer on how the salary process should be carried out. The wording about the Tidö Agreement was not included in it, it must have been added afterwards.
Patrik Hall is a professor of political science at Malmö University and researches changes in Swedish public administration.
– I don’t think they have thought about it. When you read this, you as a political scientist are shocked. Who sanctioned this? If it is the prime minister or another minister, it is really serious. If it is not, perhaps it is some kind of accident at work, he tells DN.