Slave Wages in Modern Sweden

If you thought that Sweden was a nation of high paid, highly skilled workers, strong Labor Unions, workers rights, and good working conditions, than think again.  Welcome to the New Sweden that is encouraging the immigration of cheap labor from India, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Eastern European countries and at a time when the official unemployment figure is around 9 %, but in reality is probably more like 35 to 40 %.  People attending school or who are on practicums are considered employed.  Also refuges, those on sick and disability pensions,  and those on social welfare are not included in the tally and they number in the millions.

There was a news story yesterday about a conflict between Kristainstad Township and a Farm that has Ukrainian farm workers that are earning 12 swedish crowns per hour when they were promised 500 to 750 euro as a monthly salary.  Last time I checked a swedish crown was worth around seven per one U.S. dollar and 9.23 swedish crowns to one Euro.

Turns out the Township has an agreement with the Swedish Immigration Department that has an agreement with a company called Anrol AB.  This is a corporate farm that projects six million kg of vegetable sales in 2010 and ships out three full trailer trucks per day to several European Lands.  This company has a collective agreement with a Union, but turns out that they have contracted workers through another company that doesn't have a collective agreement with Anrol, AB.  Here we go again.  Swedish Companies by passing around  Swedish Law and doing it by playing the shell game.  We are not responsible, the other company is.  This is the same stragery used with the Chinese Berry Pickers if you had read the August blog entry that I wrote about their predictament.  Can you see a clear pattern emerging?  I could say, Shame on you, but know that this would fall upon deaf and non-caring ears. It would have the same effect as asking a group of hungry foxes to stay away from the chicken coop.

This is a growing trend in Sweden today.  A few weeks ago it was revealed that there were building workers working for 16 swedish crowns per hour.  When the companies are caught red handed breaking Swedish Law, the government's position is usually that they should know better, or the law as written is weak, or there's nothing we can do.  The party line is we need skilled workers from outside Sweden's borders, but I think that perhaps the unofficial party line is, let's break the unions and lower labor costs.  Same thing began in the good old U.S. of A in the eighties.  Heads were hidden in the sand as illegal Mexican workers flooded over the border supplying cheap labor and thus helping to lower wages and weaken the Labor Unions.

It is sad to see a nation that once stood as a model to the world imploding from within due to the selfishness and greed of a few of wealth and political influence.  It is going the way that has lead to the collapse of all that was good in my own homeland and our national communities around the world.

Elizabeth Marklund of Piteå, Sweden - Serving the Good

This is a tribute to the efforts of an LPN nurse in Piteå, Sweden by the name of Elizabeth Marklund who has been fighting for a humane health care for patients with Dementia and other citizens with severe illness in her home town.  Here is another example of a person of compassion to take it upon herself to approach her profession in a proper manner and do what is best for her patients rather than go along with the politicians and self serving bureaucracts looking to their own comfort rather than the comfort of the people that they have failed to serve. 

For Elizabeth, I will pay her a tribute by giving her the title of a Server of the Good and wishing her all my best in all her future endeavors.  Our world needs more people like her.  She started her efforts in November of 2009 with an official letter of complaint to Socialstyrelsen, the government agency in charge of seeing to patients rights to good health and care in Sweden. It's clear that they didn't do their job if after almost a year nothing has changed.  Sweden has a funny system.  The State oversees and regulates the State.  Good system for the Politicians and Bureaucrats indeed.  Also, it's strange how those are lower levels in the organization are the one's blowing the whistle on corruption and unethical labor practices.  One rarely  hears of an RN or Doctor speaking up although it has been done here on rare occasions. Perhaps they have more to loose or are more disconnected from the patients.  Besides staff are required to sign in their contracts that they will remain silent about patients and workplace conditions and this is often used as a tool to control and threaten personal with breach of contract if they dare to speak up.  Also they are required to take all complaints directly to their boss and often the bosses never take any action.  Sounds more like the maffia than a healthcare agency.

She bought to the citizens attention the plight of eight Dementia patients in a facility in Piteå, Sweden who had one LPN to care for them per shift and no one over night.  They were locked and alarmed in over night.  Often the morning nurse would come in to find patients on the floor in the corridor lying in their own piss and shit.  These conditions were evident even though Swedish law states that overnight there should always be one RN on duty along with the LPN's and that patients cannot be locked in agains't their will.  So much for the law in the New Sweden that is more like the wild west than a progressive and civilized land.  It appears that criminality rules in the healthcare system while morality or ethics have taken a back seat.

When inspectors from the watchdog agency come to visit they have cake and coffee with the highest boss of the facility and never see or talk to staff or personal.  Elizabeth also stated that 30 million crowns was given to Piteå for healthcare and schools while at the same time the township had a profit of 24 million crowns. You make your own assumptions as to how tax money is being handled.

When the Social Democrat Politician in Piteå by the name of Peter Roslund was questioned on why the law was being broken, his answer was that we have limited resources and "that's not good". 

There was also a Debate Show on TV in which Elizabeth was present also with a Socialstyrelsen representation, Mr. Peter Roslund, and the Health Minister of Sweden who I affectionally refer to as little Maria Larson.  You see she was an LPN herself along with being a junior high teacher for a short while.  I suppose this makes her highly quilified to be a Health Minister.

Of course little Maria knew nothing about this.  Surprised, are you?  The others were serving excuses and party line statements without any substance or reality.

Elizabeth's statement directed at all these prominent officials was, "What do we do with our tax money?  We pay for egoism and greed and our leaders take more and more for themselves".  Good for you Elizabeth.  You hit the head on the nail.  Another good line of her's during the debate translates into, "We need Robin Hoods in our Society to steal back the money that the Politicians have stolen away from us".

I hope that many come to honor and support Elizabeth and join her in her efforts of seving the good in whatever form that takes within their own communities.

Gregg Hall - A Man Who Serves The Good

Here is a man in Florida who has been giving daily reports about the Gulf Oil Spill. Gregg Hall is a man who I consider to be a Server of the Good. I wish him the best of luck. Our world needs more like him.

We are the Ones We've Been Waiting For from the Hopi Elders

by Hopi Elders


You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered…


Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?

Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for your leader.

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.

And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.

The time of the one wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word ’struggle’ from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

--Hopi Elders' Prophecy, June 8, 2000

Political Corruption - Swedish Style

It's soon election time in Sweden so both major parties are doing their best to discredit each other.  An article came out in the Friday edition of the Metro Newspaper alleging that a number of Politicians of several political parties are hiding their court judgements of being found guilty for drunk driving, robbery along with armed robbery, murder, and rape from other party members as well as voters.  This is on the Township, County, and Parliament levels.  The prosecuted wrong doers believe that hiding their past criminal records will increase their chances of keeping their jobs and being re-elected.  They also believe that any revealing of this to the public will lower trust in them and their parties.  The lower level politicians believe that they can fly under the radar of the press since the media is concentrating their investigative efforts on frying the big fish at the Parliament and Minister level.

Saturday there was another article about a Township Level Politician who has worked in high positions in more than one city in his County.  He was convicted for murder of his girlfriend in 1985 and has managed to hide this from his employers until recently.  He doesn't think it's important that the public know and what he did in his past doesn't really matter today.  After all, people do change and one must move on with their life.  Shall we believe him and forgive and forget?

In November, 2006 an Environmental Party member was convicted of armed robbery with a knife in the Stockholm Underground.  In October, 2009 a Church Politician  (Christain Democractic Party) was convicted for rape of his own Grandchild.  Here are some good Christian and family values.  After Metro informed his party he got the boot.  In November, 2009 a Folk Party Township politician was convicted and fined for buying sex in a group sex activity with several prominent citizens in his own home.  He lost his job also.  Another Christian Democrat from the southern region of Skåne was tried and convicted for robbery in the 1990's.  The Police Chief for the whole of Sweden has been tried and convicted for organizing and running group sex activities with young teenager prostitutes for Politicians, Business Men, and other prominent citizens.  When he was arrested he was in his car on his way to meet with a young girl to give her a job interview and was carrying sex toys and B & D equipment in his car.  It was reported he liked his sex rough and liked to beat the girls also.  Perhaps he missed the part of his Police training in which he was taught to "Serve and Protect".

During the trial the names of others involved was withheld from the public record.  I suppose this was to protect the guilty and prevent further scandals.  After seeing this news, I remember commenting to my wife that I bet that there were other Ministers and Parliament Members as well as highly placed Civil Servants involved, thus the cover up.  Is it a coincidence that shortly after the Labor Minister for Sweden resigned his position after allegations of buying sex?  Perhaps if the Top Police Chief and his highly placed political associates were not so distracted by sex with teenage girls, the heavy consumption of alcohol, robbery, and rape than there would most likely not be such dramatic increases in crime in Modern Day Sweden.  Are these men who reportably misuse their positions of power to commit criminal acts themselves going to support tougher laws and tougher penalties for criminal acts?  I would think not.  Has Leadership and Honesty gone the way of the dinosaur?

Those of you in other Lands.  Does my narration on corruption and misuse of power sound a bit close to home?  Sometimes living in Sweden feels a lot like back home for me when I am following the Local and Nation News Reports.  This growing corruption in what I call, self-servers is certainly worldwide and leading to a lessening of all that is good in our Lands.

It is not my intention to throw stones in a glass house by some of my entries depicting life in Modern Day Sweden, but to perhaps do some window washing so that those viewing from both near and far will be better able to see more clearly where they reside.  Sometimes an honest view outward can lead to a more honest viewing inside one's own borders.  The distractions, dis-information, mis-information, myths, lies, and deceptions are so many.  Sometimes by learning to look beyond these shortcomings and hold on tight to the thin yet strong thread of honesty, one is able to help hold together that which is still good in our humanities, communities,  and in our world.

Gabriellas song

Here is a beautiful song sung by a Swedish Woman with a beautiful Soul.  This is some of the best that Sweden has to offer our world.

Lyrics in English:

It is now that my life is mine 
I’ve got this short time on earth 
And my longing has brought me here 
All I lacked and all I gained 

And yet it’s the way that I chose 
My trust was far beyond words 
That has shown me a little bit 
Of the heaven I’ve never found 

I want to feel I’m alive 
All my living days 
I will live as I desire 
I want to feel I’m alive 
Knowing I was good enough 

I have never lost who I was 
I have only left it sleeping 
Maybe I never had a choice 
Just the will to stay alive 

All I want is to be happy 
Being who I am 
To be strong and to be free 
To see day arise from night 

I am here and my life is only mine 
And the heaven I thought was there 
I’ll discover it there somewhere 
I want to feel that I’ve lived my life! 

Sweden- Land of Robin Hood Reversed.

Sweden at least in my view has been moving from a Socialist State to a Plutocracy.  A government that caters to Bankers and Financiers, Corporations, Pharmas and those who have more.  Labor Unions are weaker as are Labor Rights.  Social benefits are disappearing at an alarming rate.

The current reigning government has had a policy of putting more in the pockets of the rich.  Social Insurance is being cut as many really sick people are being forced back into the workplaces to work up to 50 %.  I have known of more than one with cancer or severe heart disease who has been forced back to work.  One has been hearing about cheaters and parasites destroying the social system while at the same time Politicians and State owned company CEO's are getting huge wages and retirement packages and openly caught for corruption with little more than a responce from Ministers saying that they should know better.

If one is unemployed and on minimum unemployment, then he will get 320 swedish crowns per day, but the Education or Job Coaching Companies that are growing like cancerous tumors get 300 crowns per day and may see the person once a month.  If one is long term unemployed than Townships, Non-Profits, and even Private Companies get 255 crowns per day to help what the government over and over in the media calls,
parasites to have a pratice place and we get the honor of working for our minumum benefit along with the right to pay for our own tranportation, extra lunch food, and work clothes.  A good deal for private businesses to get the State to supply them with free labor.  I wonder who thought up this idea.  Must have been a Plutocrat for sure.  This system will only increase unemployment and benefit flim flam coaching companies since there is no formal coaching education and most of the coaches are long term unemployed themselves who were given jobs to keep up appearances and fill the needed seats for all that funny money coming down the hypocracy pipeline.  If you owned a company would you hire any new personal given the option of free labor plus you can put 255 sek a day into your pocket?  Even Robin Hood if he reversed his principles would not have been as successful.

Property taxes were changed so that those who own  estates of several million pay the same as  retired folks in little houses in the forest.  Pensioners and those who collect unemployment benefits are at the hightest tax rate and pay more in percent than those with high incomes and every time there has been a tax cut for the working, the unemployed and pensioners got a tax increase.  Here is a good example of Robin Hood stealing from the poor to give hand outs to the rich.

There was also a tax rebate act passed to allow the owners of homes and condos to do repairs and get a big tax refund and besides this, to qualify, one must have a high income in the first place.   There is also a new tax deduction for those who hire a Nanny and House Keepers.  Another tax to give to the wealthier in the society paid for by cuts in the Social Insurance, Postal Service, Medical Care, Police, and pretty much all the government agencies and bureaus intended to serve the citizens.  I suppose this was a good move by the Politicians to help cut down on political scandels since several Ministers and high placed Politicians have been caught red handed paying their help under the table.  It seems to be enough to say I have learned from this experience to get off the hook.

I saw an investigative report on TV about the poor women that are forced to leave their homes and children in Latvia to work as Cleaners for the wealthy class in Stockholm.  It was failed to mention that the Swedish Banks were the leaders in bankrupting this nation by exporting their easy credit loaning practices to this Land, thus helping people to build up a debt that they would never be able to repay.  Also, I noticed that their children had modern cell phones, computers, and nice clothing and one's parents had a new roof on their home.  A Psychologist from Latvia said that these children were in danger of becoming drug and alcohol abusers and developing servere emotional problems.  Looks like the Swedes managed to export the same environmental facters since these problems are in epidemic proportions here in Sweden as in the rest of the western societies.

So in conclusion I will give two links to support my opinions:

Socialism

Plutocracy