What happened
Young employees at Leos lekland at Stora Bernstorp outside Malmö raised the alarm about serious safety hazards in the climbing frames and subsequently lost their jobs. The company's management initially dismissed the staff's warnings. A 36-page inspection report from January this year, which the company itself submitted to Konsumentverket, now shows that the complaints were correct. Following the revelation, the union is demanding that managers at all 27 of the company's facilities in Sweden undergo work environment training.
Our analysis
The decision to dismiss the young workers who sounded the alarm was made by the management of Leos lekland, who chose to brush aside the warnings until their own 36-page report proved the opposite. The investigation shows what happens when young people in precarious employment take responsibility for safety: they lose their income while management stays on. The reporting focuses on the union's demands for training for managers at the chain's 27 facilities, but does not ask the question of redress or damages for the young people who were punished for doing their jobs. What happens next lies with the union and company management, who must announce whether the managers will be forced to undergo training and whether those dismissed will receive any compensation.
Explained
A safety representative is a person appointed by the employees or the union to ensure that the work environment is safe and that the employer complies with the Work Environment Act.