Swedish fire service sued over affirmative action
Published: 8 Jul 11 10:42 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/34818/20110708/
Södertörn's fire department, just south of Stockholm, is being sued for actively choosing to hire women and people with foreign background, according to Sveriges Radio (SR).
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"The response I got from Södertörn was that I wasn't qualified to apply for the summer jobs, because the jobs were reserved for women and people with an immigrant background," said Simon Wallmark to SR.
He agrees that there is a need for more women and immigrants in the field, but argues that the recruiting should be done some other way.
Out of the 32 people finally hired by the fire department, 10 lacked the relevant education for the job.
The case is now being taken to court by Stockholm-based Centre for Justice (Centrum för Rättvisa).
"This is a case of a Swedish man who has been denied the same chances as others, just on account of being a Swedish man" Anna Rogalska-Hedlund, lawyer at Centre for Justice, told SR.
The agency has past experience of cases against affirmative action, and are now demanding 100,000 kronor ($16,000) for the discrimination, on Wallmark's behalf.
The fire department's manager Anders Edstam has no regrets about the recruiting, explaining that they made a conscious choice to include women and immigrants, and that those recruits lacking the necessary education will be receiving it through the job.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
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All discrimination is unacceptable, PERIOD.
You can't reserve jobs for a group, or a type.
vacancy announced, person applies, person has right skills, person gets job.
This idea of positive discrimination is nothing more than hogwash. If people want to be hired, they gain the skills, get educated and find a job, PERIOD.
Everything must be well justified.
What ´d be the next steps ?
Short people prolonged ?
Long people reduced ?
Too smart stupefied ?
Hawk eyed added some dioptries by laser ?
Well as far as I remeber first funny indication that gender is a specific sell killer disease of rich, healthy and satiated societes was the sue of sweden young ladies who found not to be admitted to university, becouse there would be more then 50 percent ladies, so university registered more young swedish man to make the gender balance :)
Isn´´t it good fun ?
I read somewhere that it takes an immigrant 7 years to get a job in Sweden. In all that time how do they survive? It is in the bst interest of the host society to integrate these people pronto for theme to learn the language and customs, pay tax, regain dignity and assimimlate.
The alternative is to marginalize them, alienate them, ridicule and belittle them for being on the dole and so on....leading to untold amount of social ills, 'friction' and downright animosity.
Pick your poison
Firstly I am not swedish, am not in sweden and I am not a racicst, nacionalist etc....
To say that opposite opinion is racist, nationalist (nacist), chauvinist or the reactionary is the most easy way how to kill any discussion about ordinary troubles of nowadays life in wealthy European and Nort America countries.....
What are the ordinary troubles in these days ? Plenty of them, long list etc...
Unfortunately the most wide increasing trouble is just to speak openly about the life and its troubles, call the items and things naturaly and to be a simply average member of majority.
Make myself a century tyranised minority !
Thats the way !
And my questions are : do we have enough majority to keep all minorities happy ? Do we have enough responsible for all the bad things from our history? Do we have enough apologies to be ordinary white males :D?
Don't agree? Then you're racist, facist, nationalist...
All the Swedes I work with are hard working. 8 hour days are not normal, 10 to 12 are. You're bigoted fool who probably doesn't have a job because of your attitude shining through at your interviews. You have no desire to integrate and don't have a clue either.
Quotas are crap. The best qualified for the job, especially firemen. If that is all white males, so be it.
The comments seem to be concentrated on only the immigrants and sorry to say, it says a lot about the objectivity in this forum.
well your comment is nice example seems that "wishes are parents of thoughts" :( .
I ´ve found the 7 comment where is nothing about the immigrants.
Question : do you really think that among the immigrants are the men only ?
The authorities are getting increasingly desparate, because for some strange and incomprehensible reason far fewer girls than guys want to become fire fighters. They seem to prefer nursing and stuff.
I do have a clue. Stop your brainwashing. It gets you nowhere. The Arab wrld is undergoing an Islamic rebirth and so should whole world. I believe its a miracle how the world is changing in favour of the truth.
Three times there was a woman in competition in 10 ears
The problem is that they shloud transport 80 kg figurine, hit 100x with 7 kg hammer the concret block, carry two 20 kg kanysterm jump over 2,20 m tall wall and go to 26th floor of building.
All done in oxygen mask with bomb and with all the fireman staff on ( +20kg)
The best time of lady was 37 minut... the best time of man was 9 minutes....
So if the lady has 50-60 kg she can be good fireman but mostly not stron enough to carry out the 80-100 kg old lady from building in fire....
and that is all about...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_in_the_World_%28report%29#Middle_East_and_North_Africa
It does not diminish that fact at all. What I was trying to point out is that everybody seems to be dwelling on the fact that immigrants were hired when the story clearly stated it was both women and immigrants.
@ Central European
The article did not specify if the women were immigrants and I am sure if they were immigrants, then the article would have talked about ONLY
well still i think majority of comments is not about the immigrants only :)
To be honest I think that majority of nowadays swedish immigrants keeps their women home.......
Is it Sweden's job to employ all of Africa, Asian and Arabia.
Look around folks, there won't be a Sweden in 60 years. Sure, a few people may speak it, there will be a few old buildings that are perhaps Swedish, but that's the end of it.
The Communists will destroy culture until they have achieve their goal of 'world homogeneity' , and then culture will be replaced by consumerism.
The Right and the Left are implicit conspirators on this one.
Stop mass immigration now - if we want to help Somalis, then foreign direct investment is the best way.
Saying the Middle East is going through an Islamist (purposeful use of Islamist and not Islamic) is true. Religion and politics don't mix well however. They never have and they never will. Saying it is the truth the whole world needs to adhere to is rubbish. Who is doing the brainwashing?
But why are these Swedes not talking about the women also mentioned in the article; it seems that everyone just realized that there is discrimination in the employment system. This has been happenning to IMMIGRANTS for ages. PLZ go to arbetsförmedlingen Mr Simon Wallmark and find another job.
I think there also might be a problem with certain cultures refusing to do something, such as some type of rescue operation, because it is seen as against their religion. I have NO problem with anyone taking on a job provided they can do the job in its entirety without reservation.
In the article discussed here, the fire department was clearly WRONG. The advertised position should have clearly stated MINORITIES and WOMEN ONLY!
It is scary if they actually turned away a more qualified applicant in favor of a LESS qualified one.