Many of Sweden's firefighters may resign. The reason is new EU rules that will change scheduling this autumn. The current 24-hour shifts, which are popular with firefighters, are banned. Instead, they have to work more shifts each month.
"Employees often think that you can decide for yourself: they want to work a lot and for a long time with shorter rest in order to be free for longer periods, and they will not be able to decide that anymore," says Lise-Lotte Argulander, employment law expert at Företagarna.
Protest march in Stockholm
A group of firefighters, Protect the Emergency Services' Working Hours, has started a petition among the country's 5,000 full-time firefighters and 10,000 part-time firefighters. So far, nearly 3,000 firefighters have signed the petition demanding exemptions for the emergency services.
In Stockholm, a couple of hundred firefighters gathered today to show their dissatisfaction with the new working hours, which complicate the family life of many employees.
"I'm here because these new working hours won't work. We won't have time to be with our families. It makes me very sad, says firefighter Niklas Gullback, who participated in the protest.
Other professional groups are also coming out in protest against the stricter rules. In a few weeks, 16,000 personal assistants have signed the petition "Save the daily shifts", Expressen writes.
The new Working Time Directive has been met with both praise and praise. In the clip above, employment law expert Lise-Lotte Argulander goes through the pros and cons of the new rules.