The Union for Professionals – the voice for academics

The Union for Professionals, Akademikerförbundet SSR, is Sweden's leading union in the field of social sciences. We work to improve conditions, education, wages and opportunities for our members.

En trevlig kvinna på Akademikerförbundet SSR ler mot kameran.

The Union for Professionals is a trade union for university graduates with a degree in social science, behavioral science or social work.  We organize more than 75 000 members in both the public and the private sectors. The organization consists of more than 300 local and regional organizations, with one national office based in Stockholm.

The Congress, that meets every third year, is the highest governing body. The Union for Professionals is a member of Saco, the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations, a politically independent confederation of 22 unions of university graduates with a total of around 600,000 members. We are also a member of PSI, Public Services International, and EPSU, the European Public Services Unions.

Interested? Call us at 08-617 44 00 or join here.

Equal opportunities

The Union for Professionals takes a clear stand on political issues that concern our members, but as an organization we are decidedly non-partisan. Our efforts are focused on employment, working conditions, the labour market and education, but we also have a vested interest in issues relating to professional development for our members, and their possibilities of conducting professional work.

That means that we put a lot of effort into lobbying the government, the parliament and other sectors of society on issues related to our members and their specific professions. Certain values guide us in all the work we do. We demand equality in the workplace and the labour market, as well as equal employment opportunities for everyone, regardless of gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnic background, disability or age. We demand that salary should be based on competence. We hold that equality in the labour market provides the opportunity to combine work and parenting for both men and women.

Collective bargaining

The collective agreements and collective bargaining are fundamental to the Swedish labour market, and our most important tool in regulating working conditions and benefits for our members. They characterize almost all our work.

Our competent and experienced ombudsmen offer support and advice to members on an individual basis, as well as represent them in negotiations with employers whenever and wherever needed.

We strive to promote and further develop the professional roles of our members and to influence the quality and conditions of university education in our different disciplines. In the professional field we endeavor to improve professional performance by focusing on ethics and quality development, and by arranging major annual professional seminars and conferences.

Ready to join? Call us at 08-617 44 00 or join here.