Most of Sweden’s working poor are male immigrants

Middle-aged men born outside of Sweden make up the largest proportion of Sweden’s working poor, a study from Gothenburg University has shown.

Women in the same category often have better paid jobs, or don’t work at all.

The study covered the period between 1987 and 2016 with calculations for each year in that period, and has recently been published in the Social Indicators Research journal.

During those 30 years, a clear change was observed. In the beginning, single women were the largest group among the working poor, but they have now been overtaken by male immigrants.

The researchers draw the conclusion that Sweden’s gender equality policy has been successful, integration of immigrants has been less so.

The study is partly based on households’ disposable income, partly on each person’s income through employment, and partly on the established definition of relative poverty.

Two percent of the working population aged 18 to 64 were classified as in poverty in 2016, with male immigrants the largest category in that group.

Swedish vocabulary: arbetande fattiga – working poor

Electricity price subsidy could be paid out to some people in cash

Many households will receive their electricity price subsidy payment in cash via an utbetalingsavi, a letter which you take to your bank or supermarket to receive a payment in cash.

The Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) will not be able to make payments directly into the bank accounts of everyone who is eligible for the payment, meaning that these individuals will receive an utbetalningsavi which they will have to exchange for cash instead.

Some house owners are eligible for thousands of kronor – much higher amounts than those usually handled in cash.

The Social Insurance Agency will now need to choose a bank which will handle the payouts.

“Everyone who does not have an account in the bank handling these payments will receive an avi,” manager Fredrik Falk from the Social Insurance Agency told TT newswire. “This is the only way we can make payments.”

No Swedish bank has total dominance of the market. Although the major banks have large coverage of the market, the largest bank is Swedbank, with only 19 percent of the market.

This means that the majority of those receiving the subsidy may receive it in cash.

Swedish vocab: kontanter – cash

Swedish Schools Inspectorate: English school must abolish dress code

The Swedish Schools Inspectorate have given the Internationella Engelska Skolan (IES) in Täby until January 27th to abolish its dress code, stating that it limits students’ individual freedoms.

The Schools Inspectorate initiated an inquiry after reports of strict dress codes at IES in Täby. In interviews, students told inspectors that they were not allowed to have their bra straps on show, wear low-cut tops or wear skirts or shorts shorter than “a student’s fingertips when standing with their arm by their side and fingers straight”.

According to the school’s headteacher, school leadership has never implemented a specific dress code, although the previous leadership was “stricter” on clothing, which may have affected the environment at the school.

However, the School Inspectorate’s assessment of the situation is that the school’s rules in practice mean that students are not allowed to wear certain clothes. This goes against Sweden’s skollagen or ‘school law’, which states that schools have a mission to convey the importance of an individual’s right to freedom and integrity.

IES in Täby has until January 27th to show the Schools Inspectorate evidence that the dress code has been scrapped.

Swedish vocab: klädkod – dress code

Turkey calls for ‘concrete steps’ before backing Sweden Nato bid

Turkey said on Wednesday Sweden’s new government was more determined to address Ankara’s security concerns in return for Nato membership but called for “concrete steps”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts on the sidelines of a NATO gathering in Bucharest on Tuesday.

Ankara has accused the two Nordic nations — especially Stockholm — of providing a safe haven for outlawed Kurdish groups it deems “terrorists” and held back on ratifying their Nato bids despite an agreement in Madrid in June.

“The statements (coming out of Sweden) are good, the determination is good but we need to see concrete steps,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters in Bucharest. “We told them we haven’t seen concrete steps on these issues”.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström spoke optimistically about Tuesday’s meeting.

“I have to say that I felt after this meeting that yes, there is progress in line,” he said.”We are moving forward with the implementation of a trilateral memorandum which was signed in Madrid.”

Swedish vocab: utrikesminister – foreign minister

Crisis-stricken airline SAS records heavy losses

Troubled Scandinavian airline SAS, which has filed for bankruptcy in the United States, reported deeper losses in the fourth quarter on Wednesday.

Net losses amounted to more than 1.2 billion Swedish kronor ($117 million) in the August-October period, compared to a loss of 744 million kronor a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

“As with previous quarters in 2022, the currencies (foreign exchange) and jet-fuel price have brought strong headwinds for our business,” said SAS chief executive Anko van der Werff.

The airline, however, saw the “highest number” of passengers since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, with healthy demand in the summer, van der Werff said.

The airline, which cut 5,000 jobs in 2020, is preparing for “substantial recruitments and rehirings” to meet the expected increase in demand next
summer, he added.

SAS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States in July — a move allowing a company to restructure its debts under court
supervision.

Van der Werff said the airline expected to complete the court-supervised process during the second half of 2023.

Swedish vocab: att gå i konkurs – to declare bankruptcy