Wounded Swedish soldiers in benefits battle
Published: 22 May 10 12:46 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/26790/20100522/
Four Swedish soldiers seriously injured in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan are facing a new battle on the home front: the Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) is refusing to pay them benefits for their first two weeks back in Sweden since they neglected to register as unemployed.
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David Ström, from Luleå in northern Sweden, remains in a wheelchair after suffering lower leg fractures, three smashed vertebrae, a brain haemmorhage, and fractures to his collarbone and ribs.
“We just want to be treated fairly,” he told local newspaper Norrländska Socialdemokraten (NSD).
Peter Kero, from Tärendö in the far north, is also in a wheelchair after suffering two leg fractures, a broken foot, thigh bone fractures, spinal compression injuries, and fractured ribs. Like Ström, he too has been refused social insurance payments for the first two weeks back in Sweden.”
“It’s because we didn’t register as unemployed as soon as we came home,” he told NSD.
Kero felt it was “insane” for the agency to expect that the soldiers, who were seriously injured in the blast, would present themselves at the nearest job centre immediately on arrival in Sweden.
"I have a feeling the Social Insurance Agency wants me to start working the second I leave the wheelchair," said Ström.
Sweden has 500 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan as part of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
External link: News article in Swedish - NSD.se »
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You would think it was their personal money.
Get the one who made this decision and send him/her to Afghanistan without body armour or a weapon
There must already be overrides in place and the appropriate supervisor needs to sign off on it.
As far as the military goes. How about they just AUTOMATICALLY list ALL soldiers as being unemployed from their first day out.
Full pay plus bonus in my opinion. And it's not like you can't back date something like this.
Its the whole thing about soliders getting seriously injured and then getting f**ked off by idiot bueracrats (Sweden or the UK). I guess from the politicians point of view they will get more votes by promising the w*****s more unemployment benefit.
Go to the following web site it shows the job the Air Hospital does in flying back seriously injured soliders from Afghanistan to the UK.
These scum bags who refused these guys benefit should be made to go here, but needless to say they would go off with stress immeadiatly.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-air-hospital/4od
It puts things in perspective and makes you think about what these brave young men are doing against an unseen cowardly scum enemy.
Wounded soldiers returning from the war front, fighting for thier lives should worry about registering as unempolyed?.
I guess försärkringkassan would have preferred the soldiers, still dripping with blood from thier wounds stop at thier offices for registration.
VERY PRACTICAL. VERY PETRIOTIC.
Then the staff who made this decision in Försäkringskassan should be deported immediately to Afghanistan, with a complete ban on them being allowed to return, assuming they survive.
A. They recover from their injuries and are able to return to active service.
B. They recover from their injuries but not sufficiently to return to active service. In this case, the military bears the responsibility to provide compensation (for life if needed) based upon the degree of disability and it's effect on the members ability to work outside of the military.
For a military member, even a volunteer, to have to rely upon unemployment while recovering from wounds received while honorably serving their country is scandalous. It is exactly what the US did to Vietnam veterans, a war which Sweden protested and also protested the treatment of that war's veterans.
I guess any government is willing to forget service members when it means it will cost them money.
I went to the hospital 2 days ago and the stupid receptionist said i could not get treatment because the computer mistakenly listed me somewhere else and i would have to come back when it updates. For God's sake, do people in this freaking country still have their own minds? ..not to talk of common sense?
student accommodation
Excellent point. I recall those times well, the treatment of veterans lke myself and actually participated in such rally while visitng my cousin in Stockholm 1973 after I was discharged.
Semper Fi
USMC 1970-72
then fire a second shot into the ceiling and using your finest cuss words demand the benefits you require, if the Försäkringskassan employees are too slow in running out with your paperwork or helping let fly another round into their computer monitor
Or
stay on workers compensation scheme until you are fit to go to Försäkringskassan under your own steam (surely Sweden has a workers compensation scheme!!!! or are they a third world country in this regard?
the injured soldiers should be on Försäkringskassan benefits automatically with the soldiers superior officer applying within half an hour of the injury, while the soldier is in surgery for the injury the superior officer should be applying for sickness/unemployment benefits. the soldier is not unemployed until such time as they receive a discharge from the military and they can not be discharged until they are well enough to be. (unless they are dead of course in which case they probably don't need any money to live on)
Its true though that normally you have to submit discharge papers to the benefit office first,and until you get discharge papers,the military is still responsible for your welfare and costs.
There is always a time and place for the "rules" to be slightly twisted.
The Swedish army (Government) have responsibility to look after its wounded soldiers 100% ... financially and medically until they are capable of supporting themselves.
Wake up ... do the right thing by these brave soldiers who risk life and limb for their country.
Maximum respect to the the four gallant Swedish servicemen mentioned above, they put it on the line.
In fact there was a court case last week about a man who was admitted to intensive care to have his collapsed lung treated and missed his appointment with arbetsförmedling the next day and was denied money as well - the court explained their sympathy but unfortunately said they could not ignore the very EXACT wording by the current government.
So the government has known about this problem for almost 6 months but chosen not to do anything,
I am very surprised though that the government sacks it's soldiers as soon as they are injured and requires them to register for unemployment as soon as they return