Coronavirus makes it extra important to highlight member benefits

The questions that come in to Almega from the members are likely to vary depending on where you are in the country. Almega West is a consultant-dense region which, due to covid-19, is now an area that is very negotiation-intensive.

The spread of the coronavirus has created a labor shortage in many companies, large and small. For Almega West, this has had a major impact on everyday life, as many companies need help dealing with layoff issues. For a few weeks now, the issue of layoffs has been dominant, but in the past week, many issues have shifted to labor shortage negotiations. One challenge faced in the redundancy negotiations is that they must be carried out in accordance with the restructuring agreement. This point often leads to discussions with the trade union counterparts.

- We see that there are major cutbacks in IT companies in the region, especially on the consulting side. For us, it is currently the application of the restructuring agreement that is in focus. Layoffs also generate costs, and many companies are therefore having to cut back on staff. If companies don't act quickly, the consequences can be very serious," says Anders Lenhoff, Regional Manager West and Central at Almega.

Most of the questions that member companies have right now are related to a situation that has arisen due to the coronavirus. This is likely to be a situation that will persist for a long time to come. When investment, private and corporate, comes to a standstill, it creates uncertainty that will be far-reaching. There is therefore a risk that the layoffs already made will not be sufficient. The dire situation that many companies find themselves in due to the coronavirus makes it extra important to highlight the benefits of membership. Something that Almega West has been successful in doing.

- What we have done is that we approached many companies where we had previously talked about membership, for example in the IT&Telecom sector, and in some cases it was companies that approached us. When we have talked about the seriousness of the situation and told them about the possibilities of membership, we have succeeded in connecting nine new companies to us. We must take the opportunity to contact companies that we want as members of, for example, IT&Telecomföretagen now. It's a good opportunity to highlight the benefits of being part of, for example, the IT agreement and having collective agreements in these times," explains Anders Lenhoff.