Report advises not to wear free work shoes – the municipality continues to struggle – work

The Swedish Work Environment Authority concluded in a recent report that there is no need to change the rule granting the right to free work shoes.

The authority believes, among other things, that there is a lack of reliable causal links, and that it is not possible to prove that it is the lack of appropriate footwear that causes pain in many women-dominated occupational groups at the lower level. Back, hips, legs and knees.

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Now the Municipal Union is taking the issue even further.

The union has always fought for free work shoes for its members, and its president, Malin Ranigaard, will soon demand a meeting with the director general of the Swedish Work Environment Agency.

The report is totally unrealistic and provocative. It shows a great ignorance of the more common female-dominated professions.

Equality issue

Malin Dagnegård describes how Kommunal members can walk up to 20,000 steps a day, in spades.

Poor quality shoes increase the risk of stress injuries and accidents, such as slipping. However, the vast majority have to pay for work shoes themselves, while walking into any male-dominated workplace is sufficient to meet them with safety shoes.

Kommunal wants to see that the right to work shoes is regulated by legislation and does not become a problem for the parties, the Swedish Work Environment Authority is calling in the investigation. Malin Rangard believes this means that a portion of the salary space will pay for work shoes.

contradictory

You also think there is a lot of inconsistency in the report.

The authority wrote, among other things, that the guidelines in place today are sufficient, emphasizing that poor footwear increases the risk of injuries and accidents.

In addition, it is emphasized that the foundation should be reviewed rather than legislated on footwear. Are you then going to tear up the floor of everyone who has home care? It’s unreasonable and would make laying floors a more popular profession than nursing, says Malin Rangard.

Flooring will become a more popular profession than nursing

Members within Kommunal are currently campaigning for the right to free work boots across the country. Last year, assistant nurse and protection officer Ida Nilsson in Norrtälje also started a Facebook group for the same purpose. Today it has just over 5,000 members.

Matching shoes and socks

Many people on Facebook share their experiences from care, welfare, and school, but also from other professions, such as a bus driver.

She wrote that the employer requires all drivers to wear shoes and socks of a certain color, so that they match the uniform.

However, workers have to pay for these shoes themselves, which also gets a lot of wear and tear while driving.