ST News at GU May 2026
Publicerad: 2026-08-19
Nyhet In this edition of the newsletter, we write about the annual meeting and several other activities organized by the section during the spring, focusing in particular on organizational changes and climate initiatives. We also invite you to the semester’s final two “Coffee with the Union” events and highlight the national ST survey “How are international doctoral students doing?”, which will be launched with a digital panel discussion on June 9.
Reminder: If you have general questions regarding employment conditions or your ST membership, it’s easiest to contact ST Direkt at 0771–555 444 or stdirekt@st.org. For more local matters, please send us an email and we’ll respond as soon as possible: st@gu.se.
Ongoing Organizational Changes at GU
Several major organizational changes are currently underway at GU, and the ST section’s union representatives are actively supporting members in various contexts, both individually and in connection with member meetings, staff meetings, and “Coffee with the Union” events. Sometimes the ongoing changes are easy to understand; at other times, our view is that the measures could have been avoided through wise planning and sound personnel policies. The project to reduce costs in administrative and support services by ten percent has caused significant concern across GU workplaces, and the employee organizations have disagreed with the employer regarding the project’s objectives and parts of its implementation. We have explained our point of view in Publikt (Swedish).
The ST Section Annual Meeting
The GU section held its annual meeting on March 18, during which a new board, auditor, and election committee were appointed for the coming term. The section’s members also decided on future activities, the budget, and the salary policy program. EvaLena Moser, from Lund University and ST’s department in the university and college area, chaired the meeting. Documents and minutes (in Swedish) from the annual meeting are available here on the section’s website under Dokument – Årsmöten (you must be logged in to access the material).
Movie Night for Members on Sustainable Economics
As part of ST’s climate initiatives, the section organized a movie night for members on April 15, screening the film “Outgrow the System” at Capitol Cinema. After the screening, a discussion was held with one of the film directors, Anders Nilsson, and Erik Andersson, a senior lecturer at the Department of Global Studies at GU. Interesting questions were raised about different models for transitioning to a sustainable economy and how the climate crisis may affect working life. The event was organized in collaboration with the Vision trade union within the City of Gothenburg. For those who missed the event, the film is now available on YouTube. Outgrow the System | ARTE.tv Documentary
ST’s local climate group aims to contribute to GU’s sustainability efforts. If you are interested in participating, please contact us at st@gu.se.
Coffee with your Union Representatives (“Fika med facket”)
During the previous board term, we tested replacing “Coffee with the Union” at the ST section office with a nomadic version held at different GU workplaces and with focus on current issues. Fortunately, interest in these meetings has been greater than for the office coffee sessions, and we therefore plan to continue organizing coffee meetups around GU. In addition, digital coffee chats will continue a couple of times each semester. Both ST members and other GU employees are welcome, so feel free to bring one or more colleagues. Here are the upcoming scheduled occasions:
- Wednesday, June 10, 3:30–5:00 p.m., Faculty of Humanities, Room J335, Renströmsgatan 6.
- Wednesday, June 24, 3:30–4:30 p.m., digital coffee chat with the section chair Peter Brandt:
Link to digital Coffee chat, June 24
Meeting with the Section Board and Union Representatives
On April 29, members of the section board met with several union representatives who represent ST in different capacities within GU – as workplace representatives and members of faculty boards and local work environment committees. Discussions initially focused on ongoing organizational changes, salary formation, and GU’s work on efficient administrative support. The meeting then addressed the section’s climate initiatives and current work environment issues in which trade unions and union representatives play an important role. Finally, we reviewed common member questions as well as opportunities for development and further training for union representatives.
We would like to recruit more union representatives. Please contact us if you want to get involved! st@gu.se
ST Survey on Work Environment of International Doctoral Students
On June 9, from 3:00–4:00 p.m., a digital panel discussion will be held in connection with the launch of the report “How are international doctoral students doing?”. The report is part of the study “Hur mår doktoranden? 2026,” conducted by Fackförbundet ST and the doctoral committee of the Swedish National Union of Students. The survey results show, among other things, that international doctoral students experience higher levels of stress and are more frequently exposed to discrimination than other doctoral students. The study also shows that language barriers create additional problems for this group. Sign up here
Don’t Forget Your Compensation Day for Sweden’s National Day!
This year, June 6 falls on a Saturday, which means that all employees who would have been entitled to time off had National Day fallen on a weekday are entitled to take leave on another day. The leave may be taken between June 7 and August 31 of the same year. The day off should be scheduled in consultation with your immediate supervisor. Employees covered by the working hours agreement for teachers, as well as employees with trust-based working hours, are not covered by this provision. Read more on the staff portal: Working hours
Meeting with the AMO/HAMO Network on May 29: The IA system
All AMOs and HAMOs are welcome to join a digital meeting on May 29. Josefin Johansson from the HR department will explain how work environment cases are managed in the system. There will also be time for other questions. A link to the meeting is available in the AMO network’s Team. Welcome!