In Branschnytt number 12, we talked to Hannes Sjöberg, business policy expert at Almega Service Companies on public procurement as well as other topical membership issues at the moment.
Have there been any updates on the increased the dependency ratio and skills supply since last fall?
A few weeks ago, the Minister for Migration, Johan Forssell, made a statement in the business newspaper "Tidningen Näringslivet" about labor immigration and the increased wage floor, which he said was far down on the companies' list of priorities. Unions, employers and companies have criticized the statement. The day after the statement, there was a proposal that certain professions, based on the shortage occupation list from the Swedish Public Employment Service, could be exempted from the increased income requirement. The problem is that the cleaning industry is not on the list, which we question given the situation of the companies. We at Serviceföretagen Almega will continue to fight for the cleaning industry to be included," says Hannes.
The supply of skills remains a major focus of our discussions with politicians, as our members have difficulty finding staff. There are unemployed people who want to work as cleaners but lack the right skills, with language requirements being a clear obstacle. In addition, there is a lack of incentive for many unemployed people to look for work. At the same time, new figures show that there is a huge recruitment need in the sector. Over the next three years, the industry needs to hire 11 000 cleaners, 7 400 home service workers and 4 000 window cleaners. A combination of measures is needed to reduce unemployment and strengthen the supply of skills. The government is considering a benefit cap to increase the difference between wages and benefits. In addition, a form of activity support is also needed to increase the incentive to take a job. Swedish language training will also be an important part of preparing the unemployed for a job. Today, there are many people who want to work but who cannot be employed. These people need to be equipped in a better way.
"Over the next three years, the industry needs to hire 11,000 cleaners, 7,400 home service workers and 4,000 window cleaners."
Public procurement has long been discussed in industry, what's the latest?
In the latest industry report, which can be read on Almega's website, some statistics were published regarding public procurement. The statistics show that of all our members who have collective agreements, only 30 % of these have participated in public procurement in the last two years, of which only 10 % have participated to a high extent. The main reason for the low participation is the low prices - there is a demand for high harvesting rates combined with too low remuneration. With collectively agreed wages and all other employment-related expenses, there is no way the calculations make sense. At the same time, we see that regions and municipalities are largely procuring rogue operators, where the operator either performs the cleaning with low quality, has poor employment conditions, or both.
In public procurement, the actors need to comply with the LOU, where the purchasers have good opportunities to include various requirement specifications that allow them to exclude choosing the one with the lowest price, but this is not done today. This shows that there is a lack of knowledge among purchasers.
We at Almega Serviceföretagen have developed a procurement guide together with Kommunal och Fastighet, where we work outreach and contact responsible purchasers to provide tips on how they can procure cleaning in the right way. The Swedish Competition Authority has also been commissioned to investigate how purchasers can exclude obviously frivolous tenders from a procurement process. The mandate was issued at the end of January and is expected to be completed in September 2025. We also encourage our members to become authorized, as this gives the company bonus points in public procurement, Hannes concludes.