Swedish hotel workers prepare for national strike

The IUF-affiliated hotel and restaurant workers’ union Hotell- och Restaurangfacket (HRF) has given notice for a national strike targeting 19 hotels in 6 cities across the country beginning April 19, 2017. The strikes involve all hotel staff and a ban on new hiring and the use of temporary workers.

HRF called the strike following the employers’ refusal to increase the wages of the lowest-paid workers in line with the increases won for other sectors in this year’s national sectoral negotiations.  The employers have also refused demands for increased job security.

The employers’ organization Visita has instructed its members to distribute questionnaires regarding union membership to all employees in the hotels that have been selected for strike action.

More information on the strike, including the names and locations of the nineteen hotels, is available in a HRF press release here.

The IUF General Secretary pledged the full support of the IUF and its members around the world, saying “The employers’ rejection of a pay increase for the lowest paid workers in this low-wage sector, coupled with the outrageous employer questionnaire on union membership, are an attack on collective bargaining in Sweden and on workers everywhere”.