Staffing

Lars Püss (M)

Mr. Speaker! Today we are debating the Committee on Defence's report 3, which concerns personnel supply. We Moderates support the committee's position, and I move for approval of the committee's proposal in its entirety.

Mr. Speaker! As an introduction, I want to state that the Armed Forces' most important resource is its personnel. Without it, we are very vulnerable. Therefore, the Armed Forces' ability to both recruit and retain competent personnel will also be completely decisive for its ability to grow and fulfill its tasks. The conditions for officers, specialist officers, reserve officers, conscripts, home guard members, and employed soldiers will thus be decisive for Sweden's ability to defend itself against an attacker.

But before we get into the details, I want to start at a completely different end, namely that of consensus.

Right now, we face one of the greatest challenges in modern times. We have a very aggressive and threatening neighbor in the east that shows respect for no one but itself.

The other day, I visited one of our defense companies. One of the prompts I received there was that we must act united, act together for Sweden. My answer was: I think we already do that. Of course, there are differences between us, but the ambition is the same. We are all different and make different priorities – except in this issue. I experience that in the Defense Committee, there is a total consensus on wanting to defend Sweden, and I think that is important. It is also important that those who think the thought of wanting to do Sweden something wrong should be aware that we stand together because we believe that Sweden is worth defending.

We have now moved from first being neutral and then non-aligned to being allied. For my part, it has always been a self-evident matter that we should stand with Nato, that we together with others shall stand up in solidarity for our common values such as the right to freedom, human rights and the rules-based world order.

Mr. Speaker! When we talk about the defense personnel, the people, I must just make a few reflections. The Director General of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, Christina Malm, made a statement in connection with the Sälen Conference earlier this year that received quite a lot of attention, but in a strange way. She said roughly this: Soon we will need to call up people who do not want to do their military service. I have full understanding for her saying so. But I have very little understanding for the reactions.

Mr. Speaker! I will willingly admit that when I was called up to do my military service, it was perhaps not at the top of my list of things I wanted to do. I wanted to study, travel and work. Many things came before doing the military service. Furthermore, I was to go to Södertälje, and I would not be in Södertälje but in a forest a mile outside and be there for twelve months.

But there is a huge difference between not wanting to and not doing. That was precisely what the debate after Christina Malm's statement was about. Who is it that does not want to? I think the question is quite uninteresting whether you want to or not. The question that is relevant is whether you come when you are called. Almost everyone does. That is what constitutes the will to defend.

I see with all clarity that the Armed Forces have a journey ahead of them to adapt to today's conditions. The time when one was a single employer for life is over. I understand that the Armed Forces is an organization that differs from others in very many ways. But we must start daring to think anew. The order that there is in reality only one way in and that it is when you are approximately 20 years old, we must start to reassess.

In all the jobs I have had, broad work experience has been appreciated. Diversity provides different perspectives and new ways of thinking and creates the conditions for development and innovation.

Mr. Speaker! I have full respect for the fact that very specific qualities were needed to lead a unit in combat. But at the same time, they were also needed to ensure logistics, economy, food supply, and healthcare.

I would welcome it if the need for an officer training for some of the Swedish Armed Forces' positions were re-evaluated. This does not concern combat units, but rather all the support services that the Swedish Armed Forces require. I am completely convinced that we must start rethinking. Combat units are one thing, but to keep them running requires so much more.

Mr. Speaker! At the same time as the Armed Forces currently have a glaring need for officers and personnel to take on all both new and expanded tasks, we also have a defense industry that is crying out for personnel. And they are gladly requesting exactly the same personnel as the Armed Forces.

It is in everyone's interest that we manage both tasks. Therefore, I want to send an appeal to both the defense and the industry: Look at the possibilities of letting personnel move back and forth, once again, to broaden perspectives! It should also be seen as something positive. It will, in fact, give all parties' personnel broader experience. We are currently facing a very transformative period. Then we must think anew in order to be able to solve both today's and tomorrow's challenges.

Mr. Speaker! As a conclusion, I want to remind that the Defense Committee's final report arrives tomorrow. I see that several of the members of that committee have come out from their meetings to be here in the chamber. It is a final report that will serve as the basis for the upcoming defense decision.

Without knowing any details, I am quite convinced that there will be changes in a number of areas. That in itself is reason to work towards achieving an increasingly agile defense force that can tackle both today's and tomorrow's challenges.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Erik Ezelius (S)

Mr. Speaker! We are now debating the Committee on Defence's report number 3 Personnel Supply. I would initially like to move for approval of reservation 4 under point 2 regarding the Armed Forces' personnel supply and ability to recruit and retain personnel.

Mr. Speaker! We live in a difficult and trying time with a serious security policy situation in our near surroundings that we have not seen since the Second World War. In that case, it is a strength that we within politics unite and strive for broad consensus.

The realignment of Swedish defense policy cannot be overstated. The 2015 defense decision broke with previous policy, and the 2020 defense decision came to constitute a paradigm shift for Swedish defense policy with the reactivation of conscription, the objective of 2 percent of GDP on defense expenditures which implies historical investments in defense, the application for and now completed NATO membership, and not least the solid economic, humanitarian, and military support to Ukraine in its struggle for peace and freedom.

It is historical investments we see when we build up the total defense, not least that the Armed Forces have received doubled appropriations from 2020 to 2024.

Enormous resources are being spent on upgrading the defense. It concerns the establishment of new regiments and flotillas, infrastructure, and the procurement of defense materiel; it can be difficult to gain perspective on how much is being spent on defense when we talk about what percentage of GDP it is. But we can state that we are spending an enormous amount of money on upgrading the defense. And that is completely correct.

But what is at the center of this debate is not to be belittled, and this too is a large part of the cost increase. The backbone when it comes to defending our country and our allies is people. It is men and women, like you and I, who, either in duty or in the name of volunteerism, shoulder green or blue clothes and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

No area can be overlooked when the Armed Forces are growing, but long-term and sustainable personnel supply is absolutely crucial if we are to succeed in building up both our basic organization and our war organization. There are many relevant debates to be had on the subject, such as the expansion of conscription, recruitment and retention of officers and home guard members, and the conditions for our employed group commanders, soldiers, and sailors, and for those employed on a part-time basis.

Mr. Speaker! The direction for current personnel supply came with the defense decision 2020, that is, Total Defense 2021-2025. The decision implied a direction for the war and basic organization with the result that the war organization grows and the basic organization is expanded with a number of re-established regiments. As the committee has previously noted, we are living with an increased personnel requirement for the Armed Forces for a time ahead.

Let me mention some parts of what we Social Democrats highlight in our committee motion and which are now found in the report as our reservations.

In the area of total defense obligation, conscription is the cornerstone for being able to manage growth. In order to reach the goal of 90,000 in the war organization, as found in the decision from 2020, and 100,000 in a next step, we need to recruit more officers, reserve officers, full-time employees, and part-time employees. This requires increased conscription volumes.

The goal of 8,000 conscripts per year by 2025 remains fixed, but here the agency itself states that the volumes need to increase to 10,000 by 2030 to be able to manage the personnel supply in the long term. The Social Democrats are of no other opinion than that 10,000 conscripts are required by 2030 at the latest. Whether more conscripts will be required remains to be seen. As said, we are all anxiously awaiting the Defense Preparation Board's report tomorrow.

Civilian service needs to be expanded. Here we can draw lessons from Ukraine, where we see how crucial redundancy, endurance, and competence are for creating a will to defend throughout society. It is therefore welcome that civilian service is activated in a first step for rescue services and within the electricity supply sector.

When we come to the rescue services, we also raise in our reservations the importance of developing the recruitment of part-time firefighters. Here we mean that the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency can have a more coordinating role regarding recruitment and training.

Mr. Speaker! The defense forces' most important resource is the personnel, just as my colleague Lars Püss mentioned in his speech earlier. It is important that the agency continues to strengthen its ability to recruit, attract, and retain competent personnel.

If we are to manage to increase the conscription volumes, maintain the capability of our standing forces, man Natostaber and so on, a solid growth of future officers is required. Therefore, it is important to get more to seek a career within the Armed Forces as an officer.

Another important personnel category, which I am convinced will have an entirely central role when we build up our total defense, is reserve officers. The reserve officers are an important piece of the puzzle in many ways, among other things for managing the increased number of conscripts and manning the war organization. But the reserve officers also create a public anchor. Individuals who have one foot in the Armed Forces and one in the civilian world strengthen the total defense. Therefore, the investigation, which among other things shall review the right to leave of absence, is welcome, even though there is reason to look at more parts of how we are to get more, above all committed, reserve officers.

We also want to highlight the Home Guard, which is an immensely important resource and component of the total defense. After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we saw a record number of applications to join the Home Guard. It is a clear sign that the will to defend is high in Sweden. We highlight, among other things, that the Home Guard needs to grow to 25,000 by 2030.

We also highlight the voluntary organizations. They also have a key role as part of the total defense. They contribute to crisis preparedness, create public engagement, and increase the will to defend. Through important efforts such as information dissemination, education, and youth activities, the voluntary organizations contribute to increasing knowledge and competence among citizens as well as to recruitment, including to the Home Guard. We must continue to strengthen the role of the voluntary organizations, and a review of the support to them is needed.

It is good and welcome that there is now a veteran strategy. Our veterans and their relatives deserve society's appreciation and support for their contributions in overseas service and missions with the risks and sacrifices that follow. Our veterans are present throughout society. Their competence and experience make them important parts of the total defense regardless of whether they are now part of the war organization, the Home Guard, civil defense, or voluntary organizations, or in other ways are involved and contribute to the total defense. A next step, we Social Democrats believe, is to investigate how the support to the veteran associations can be made long-term.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Mikael Oscarsson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Tonight we are debating the Committee on Defence's report number 3, Personnel Supply, where we also address veteran issues. This debate takes place in a serious security policy situation. We need to prepare ourselves in various ways by strengthening the defence. More personnel were needed - officers and soldiers.

The Finnish President Alexander Stubb visited us in these days. He expressed that the best way to avoid war and promote peace is to talk less and prepare more. He said that it sounds paradoxical, but that it is precisely why we need to have a strong military defense and that it was why we became members of Nato. It is true for Finland, but it is also true for Sweden.

Madam Speaker! When building a strong defense force, one needs to think about the army, the air force and the navy and the materiel that is needed there - but also about the personnel. That is what we shall talk about here. It is important to talk about that the Armed Forces is its personnel. It means that we invest in good conditions so that officers stay.

We have had a situation where we have lost a lot of personnel. But now, positive things have happened in various ways. We hope that it is a trend, because it is needed in connection with the NATO staffing that we as a country need. We also need reserve officers, as mentioned before. It is something that has been neglected and that we need to invest in much more.

Madam Speaker! I also want to say something about veteran issues, which are addressed in the report. They are important. We have a proud tradition. I believe the first deployment was in 1953 in Korea, and since then we have made many deployments. We have been in the Balkans, in Afghanistan, in the Middle East, in Cyprus and in Congo. Up to 100,000 people have made deployments for our country and represented Sweden in these places. They deserve a big thank you, and I want to convey that from here at the rostrum. Today, there are approximately 53,000 veterans alive.

We have not always been so good at taking care of our veterans. We have become better, but there is more to do. I still want to take the opportunity to mention some things that we do. Veterans Day, which is coming up soon on May 29, is important. We have established the Armed Forces Medal for those wounded in combat and a merit medal with sword. A new reward system has been introduced, including for bravery in the field. A veteran monument has been erected. Veterans Day, which I mentioned, has been established, and since 2018 it has finally been a flag day. It should have become one much earlier, but at least it did. In 2017, the Armed Forces established a veteran center that runs, develops, and implements the agency's veteran and next-of-kin work.

Madam Speaker! I also think the voluntary organizations are worth mentioning. Four voluntary veteran and next-of-kin organizations receive state grants. These are Sveriges Veteranförbund, Invidzonen, Idrottsveteranerna, and Soldathemsförbundet. Fredsbaskrarna, Sveriges Veteranförbund, is an association of veterans. Invidzonen provides help to next-of-kin both before and after a mission. Svenska Soldathemsförbundet makes important contributions for conscripts, which the Chamber is aware of, and they also offer counseling support to those who have served abroad.

Madam Speaker! There is a small organization that also receives state funding called Idrottsveteranerna. I visited them quite recently and think they are worth mentioning. They are specifically focused on the veterans, about a hundred of them, who have been diagnosed with PTSD or other types of injuries, physical or mental. Idrottsveteranerna make a great effort by helping them do meaningful things and engage in sports. I really think it is worth mentioning that these things are being done.

In America, being a veteran is something very important. It is highlighted a lot. I was pointing out that we have not always done what we should have done, but now important improvements have come. It feels urgent to bring up in this discussion and debate which concerns exactly veterans.

Madam Speaker! I vote in favor of the committee's proposal in the report and against all motions.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Lars Wistedt (SD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by expressing my support for the committee's proposal in the report.

Madam Speaker! Citizens and personnel within the Armed Forces! The Defense Commission concludes its work this week and will submit the final report Strengthened Defense Capability - Sweden as an Ally tomorrow. In it, the commission highlights the importance of rapidly increasing our collective defense capability, especially in the shadow of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

Now there is a lot that must happen in a short time. It is about rebuilding what more than 30 years of fairly extensive negligence from various governments since 1995 has destroyed. As is well known, it often takes at least twice as long to build something up as it does to destroy it.

In the debate, there has been a very strong focus on the procurement of materiel and ammunition, not least considering that Sweden has delivered 15 support packages worth over 30 billion to Ukraine's war of freedom. In today's market-based society, it takes time to order new materiel, as the industry needs orders to start new production. There is also a sea of bureaucratic hurdles to overcome, including environmental permits.

Madam Speaker! Replacing materiel and supplies can today be compared to the construction of Egypt's pyramids. We find ourselves in almost the same situation as in September 1939. Back then, it took nearly 50 years and much more than 2 percent of GDP to build up the robust total defense that was a Swedish hallmark during the 60s, 70s, and 80s. That it would go faster today, or for that matter cost less, is quite unlikely. The price tag could have been much smaller if we had not dismantled everything during the past 20-25 years.

Madam Speaker! This matter of replacing equipment is certainly one thing, but there is something that is significantly harder to reacquire, namely the Armed Forces' competent personnel. Some parties have, during the recent period, spoken very much about that there shall be new brigades, new regiments, new training sites, and everything else that has now been promised. This sounds good, especially from a regional political perspective, because then one sees new jobs and thus a better municipal tax base. What, however, has not really been mentioned in this debate is actually the personnel.

Madam Speaker! Who is going to do all of this? Who is going to do the heavy lifting of setting up the new organizational units and training the new battalions and units to then perhaps be commanded away from home, sometimes for multi-year service within Sweden or abroad, perhaps to NATO headquarters or other service on the other side of the Baltic Sea, if not the personnel themselves?

How are we to recruit - and perhaps above all retain - capable and motivated officers and specialist officers and also, naturally, employed group commanders, soldiers and sailors? They already have, during peacetime, working conditions that involve significantly greater hardships than many - I would like to say the vast majority - experience daily in their civilian jobs.

As an officer or soldier, you are required to be a team player, participate in the unit's training, and plan and prepare for exercises outside of paid service time. As a leader and role model, you shall participate in physically demanding training under harsh conditions year-round in all types of weather. You shall also plan, lead, and follow up on exercises involving live ammunition, live explosives, heavy combat vehicles, aircraft, and ships where the risk of injury is palpable, and simultaneously be responsible for ensuring that the soldiers entrusted to you do not injure themselves or perish in accidents.

You shall also be a substitute mother and father, listen to your soldiers' concerns and care for their mental health. You shall teach them to maintain their equipment and even to clean their own room - that is not something everyone can do. You shall teach them that they are part of a team and part of something larger - a small but important cog in our total defense. In war or different forms of missions abroad, you as an officer shall lead the soldiers in combat, share their hardships and risk being injured or killed, while simultaneously being responsible for the lives and safety of a group, a platoon or a company.

All this is what you are supposed to do in an organization that for a long time has been famous for not being able to be wage-leading – you should actually be grateful that you have been allowed to attend a training with conscription benefits. With that attitude, Madam Speaker, it is not strange that we have a shortage of officers and personnel of various categories in the Armed Forces.

What can we then do to remedy this? Ultimately, it is actually the Armed Forces that is responsible for personnel, and within the Armed Forces, one must now be able to think outside the box, especially against the background of our new position as an ally in Nato. But if one cannot offer market-competitive wages, one should perhaps instead consider other forms of compensation, partly to attract interested individuals to take employment in the Armed Forces, and partly to then be able to retain them. It takes up to ten years to produce a competent company commander, battalion commander, or aircraft pilot, and perhaps even longer to produce a competent ship commander or other specialist within any of the branches of the armed forces. Altogether, it costs several million kronor per individual here. To then not ensure that the profession is attractive in the long run is an incredibly poor investment.

Madam Speaker! One could imagine some form of premium in different intervals depending on length of employment, perhaps so that the employee can choose what suits them best. One example of this could be that the retirement age is lowered by one year after every four years of service. This system exists in France for overseas service – the further away, the more years of lowered retirement age. One could also imagine a system where one receives one year of paid education at a university in connection with a career change. Other examples could be tax-free premiums for longer overseas service or longer deployments from the home location, tax-free premiums for field exercise days, free service housing in locations with recruitment difficulties, free childcare at the service location, and so on.

Madam Speaker! It is actually only imagination that sets the limits for what one could do - or perhaps rather the lack of imagination combined with a good deal of Swedish administration and bureaucracy. But if one wants to, one can.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Anna Starbrink (L)

Madam Speaker! The supply of personnel and competence in the total defense has a decisive importance for Sweden's security and for our ability to meet crises and an armed attack. This has been well described by several speakers here in the chamber.

The most serious security situation in decades, resulting from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as Sweden's membership in Nato and our own ambition to strengthen our military and civil defense, makes the issue of competence supply even more pressing. Total defense needs to grow further, which requires increased access to personnel.

The Government has established that a functioning personnel supply is central to the work of strengthening the defense, and that is a self-evident fact. But for this to be successful, active work and expanded resources are needed. The Defense Preparation Board will, in just a few hours, present its proposal on how the Armed Forces should be strengthened. In the autumn, a total defense bill will be presented to be treated here in the chamber. That personnel policy will then have a great significance is obvious.

The defense's staffing is based, as everyone knows, on both conscription and employees. Without anticipating the Defense Committee's report, I want to point out the need to expand conscription so that more receive basic training. It is a necessary measure for the war organization and to have a recruitment base for employment within the Armed Forces; more employees are also needed in the Armed Forces. Growth further presupposes that there are professional officers on a larger scale than today. In addition, we must also be aware that large retirements await in the coming years. The reserve officers also, of course, need to increase in number.

The Government has appointed an inquiry with directives to review certain issues regarding personnel supply within the Armed Forces in order to thereby increase the availability of personnel and improve the endurance of the war and basic organization. It is, of course, a very welcome inquiry. One of the questions to be analyzed is the availability of employed group commanders, soldiers, and sailors. We know that many end their employment far too early. At the same time, there is no possibility for those who wish to continue working continuously after completing a contract of eight plus four years. Here, I believe there is an opportunity to make more competence available among experienced soldiers and sailors who wish to continue their work within the Armed Forces. The conditions for the reserve officers shall also be reviewed in this inquiry, including regarding the right to leave of absence.

The total defense as a whole must have the staffing required to be able to fulfill its mission. The introduction of civil service is an important step in the development of the civil defense. The Government has appointed an inquiry also in this area to see how we can achieve a long-term sustainable personnel supply for the civil defense. The report will be presented during next year.

The investigations that have been commissioned can be of very great importance. But it is truly not possible to passively await their reports - on the contrary. Many measures to attract new people to the operations, and to retain the existing staff, need to be taken by the authorities here and now.

When the Armed Forces grow, it is important that the development occurs in a way so that the competence is utilized. Therefore, the Armed Forces must, among other things, make great efforts so that women also have a positive experience of their military service training and see good opportunities for a good professional life in the Armed Forces. In that case, the practical conditions must function well.

The discussion about the shortage of asylum seekers' clothing is, of course, negative. I would like to assert that it is pathetic that the problem has not been solved after so many years. We are still being reached by testimonies about it.

Even worse are the testimonies that sexual harassment is not always taken most seriously. Such things occur in all organizations and, of course, also in the Armed Forces. I assume and trust that the Armed Forces take the problems that have been highlighted most seriously.

The proportion of women has increased gradually over the recent years, and the target for 2024 has already been achieved for all personnel categories. But the work must be driven long-term.

Madam Speaker! I believe we all see the importance of a strong total defense. It requires a long series of decisions and significantly increased resources. With the investigations already commissioned, and the material that the authorities have contributed to the Defense Committee's upcoming report, we have a good basis for upcoming decisions. Then, many of the points raised in the motions that we are to handle here in the chamber will also be addressed in different ways and can be considered in that context. With this, I move for the approval of the committee's proposal in the report.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Hanna Gunnarsson (V)

Madam Speaker! Honored members! Hello to all of you who are sitting and listening and watching at home!

Today we are debating a large number of motions in the area of defense policy that concern the Swedish Armed Forces' personnel, recruitment, and how we ensure that the conditions are as good as possible for the Swedish Armed Forces' personnel.

At the same time as we have this debate, two other important activities are also ongoing. The first is the ongoing conscription congress where Sweden's conscripts have elected representatives. During the week, they have had important discussions regarding the conscripts' training, equipment, conditions, and compensation.

Conscription guarantees a popular anchoring of the Armed Forces' activities so that as many different people as possible with different backgrounds and experiences can participate in the defense of Sweden and obtain the important knowledge to make our country safer and more secure for everyone.

I hope that all representatives at the congress have had a very good congress with constructive discussions and good decisions. This afternoon, a new duty council shall be or has been elected. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the outgoing duty council for very good cooperation and wish the newly elected duty council good luck.

Vänsterpartiet argues that the Pliktrådets independence must be guaranteed and that the compensation for those in compulsory military service, which has not been adjusted for very many years, should be indexed so that it keeps pace with the society's price developments.

Madam Speaker! I make this greeting to the conscription congress not just to be polite. The representatives who have worked at the congress are the foundation for and the future of the Swedish military defense. I hope that many of the representatives and their comrades want to stay in the Armed Forces or choose to work in some other total defense-important activity in the future. We will need a very large amount of new personnel.

The second big thing going on right now is the Defense Commission. We have just taken a break for this debate. We will soon finalize our report, which we present tomorrow. It forms the basis for the new defense decision that we will make this autumn, together with the report we made on civil defense. In tomorrow's report, personnel issues will be an important part. It is a bit unfortunate that this debate is happening today and not next week.

Madam Speaker! We live in a very serious security policy situation. There is war in Europe following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The serious global situation puts our own total defense to the test and requires that we make investments to make society more robust. Those who are to do this are the personnel in both the military and the civil defense. The Swedish Armed Forces' operations, just as within rescue services, the police, and similar professions, involve great risks, high demands, and that one is active and working around the clock.

In recent years, our society has undergone several major crises. This concerns above all the pandemic and now also the consequences that the war in Ukraine has here in Sweden as well. One of the great lessons we take with us is precisely the importance of well-educated staff with good working conditions, the right tools and equipment. It also concerns the commitment of ordinary people to be involved and help out when it is truly needed.

It is the Armed Forces, the Home Guard, the voluntary defense organizations, the municipalities' voluntary resource groups, the Red Cross and many more both large and small non-profit organizations that have made and are making enormous contributions.

Working with the total defense's sharp tasks is not an easy job. We are very grateful for everyone who chooses to work within these professions. The most difficult tasks are perhaps those performed abroad.

I want to express a very special thank you to everyone who is going or has gone off on international military missions. We have several times in recent years seen evacuations from conflict zones, and missions during earthquakes, fires, and other natural disasters. A big thank you for your efforts!

Madam Speaker! The personnel are the total defense's most important resource. In January, the government commissioned an inquiry into precisely personnel issues. It was very long-awaited and very good. There are many issues to be solved in the area.

Several of the matters that the commission is to work on are such things that there are announcements about from here in the Riksdag or such things where there is already a majority among the Riksdag's parties. The commission was given a very long time. It is to be completed on July 1, 2025, i.e., after one and a half years of commission work.

It is of course good that the questions are thoroughly examined. But a good deal of what the investigation is looking at needs to be solved here and now so that we can retain the staff we have and be able to recruit more.

I urge the Minister of Defence to divide the investigation that has been appointed and is ongoing into partial reports so that we can begin working on those issues as they arise. Issues that I believe could be resolved quite soon are the right to leave of absence for reserve officers and the time limit for the employment of soldiers.

Madam Speaker! Usually, I would give a rather long speech regarding this report which deals with motions from the general motion period. However, we are in the middle of the Defense Committee's work and need to return to what we are doing, so I will keep it a bit shorter than usual. But I would like to mention a few issues.

It concerns equality first. Women's participation in defense and security work is crucial for the entire society to be involved and contribute and be able to withstand crises and acute events. The Armed Forces work with equality, but there is more to be done. It concerns above all equipment, clothing, and other materiel that fits women.

I want to mention salaries, a good working environment, and good working conditions. These are things that make staff want to stay and continue to be able to do a good job. There are many professional groups in the Armed Forces, especially the civilly employed, who have a different labor market that can offer higher salaries and perhaps even better working conditions.

Proper equipment is important for the staff to be able to do a good job. Necessary personal equipment and materiel must not be lacking. The large increases that we have added to the defense budget in recent years must go towards solving the acute problems and deficiencies. In the end, it is a question of security.

We in Vänsterpartiet believe that the twelve-year limit for the employment of soldiers needs to be abolished. I look forward to the investigation that the Minister of Defence has commissioned reaching good solutions on this, and preferably by tomorrow. We need it in order to be able to retain personnel in the Armed Forces.

Madam Speaker! I finally wish to move for the approval of reservation number 18. Vänsterpartiet has only one reservation in the committee this year. It is our annually recurring motion to remove the system of the Armed Forces providing the court with adjutants.

Adjutants are highly educated officers with extensive experience who are seconded to assist the King and the Crown Princess with all sorts of tasks for one month a year according to a rolling schedule.

We believe this is a waste of our officers' time. They need to devote themselves to their work tasks - to strengthen and build up the Swedish military defense, to train conscripts and carry out exercises and such. We believe that the adjutants should be able to be replaced with civil servants.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

TREDJE VICE TALMANNEN

I am prompted to remind the member, who surely also has experience from decision-making on this in group leader circles, that the group leaders and the Speaker have agreed that clothing and badges with political messages, beyond customary party pins, may not be worn in the chamber during the debate. I noted that the member did not follow this in this case and therefore remind them of the rules. They are also available on the Intranet.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Mikael Larsson (C)

Madam Speaker! The basis for our success in making our defense force grow and become larger is the personnel. That is also the case in many other industries.

Personnel procurement within the Armed Forces is one of the greatest challenges ahead. Sweden has joined Nato at the same time as the military defense is to grow significantly in the coming years with increased requirements for combat readiness and preparedness. More people shall serve in Nato headquarters. Personnel are needed for the new regiments around the country, and more conscripts shall be trained. It is obvious that measures are needed both in a short and a long perspective to find solutions for a sustainable personnel supply.

Centerpartiets assessment is, among other things, that expanded opportunities for a higher retirement age, the right to leave of absence for reserve officers and improved conditions for officer candidates can be appropriate measures.

We know that wage setting is negotiated by the parties, but the Center Party simultaneously wants to emphasize that it is important that the Armed Forces can offer good conditions and good incentives for the personnel who are interested in seeking employment at the agency, staying for a few more years, or returning to service after a few years in a civil career. The investigation on future personnel supply that several of my colleagues have referred to is good, and we will have to return to the proposals that come from there in this chamber. What is important moving forward is that the Armed Forces is an attractive and modern employer and can offer attractive employment.

Furthermore, it is important that we achieve a more equal defense force. An important measure that can contribute to this is that the defense command regularly follows up and evaluates the units' work on equality and equal treatment.

Furthermore, the Armed Forces must ensure that female soldiers can carry out exercises and combat with equipment and protection that do not hinder their movements and limit their ability to contribute in combat.

Madam Speaker! The Centre Party considers that the formal influence for conscripts needs to be reviewed to become better. One must stand independent from the Armed Forces. Every unit should have an influence officer as a link between the conscripts and the unit commander.

Centerpartiet considers that the level of influence for those subject to total defense duty should be improved and that the position of Pliktrådet should be elevated. Being called up for duty is a major intervention in the individual's life, and therefore it is particularly important that the conditions for those performing military service are not substandard. Centerpartiet therefore proposes that the daily allowance for those subject to total defense duty be index-regulated to follow the society's price developments in the same way as, for example, grants from CSN and that the subsistence allowance for those performing military service should follow the costs and also be covered with an index adjustment.

Madam Speaker! The voluntary defense organizations operating across the country have an important role in both peacetime crisis preparedness and in civil defense. They are very important from a public engagement perspective, and recruitment needs to be facilitated so that more people engage voluntarily in, for example, mountain rescue, sea rescue, or fire defense. It is extremely important that people living in sparsely populated areas and in the countryside can also feel secure that help will come if it is needed.

The activities of the voluntary defense organizations cover many different and important areas, and volunteerism will play an ever greater role as the civil defense is built up, not least for civil protection. In order for society to get as much as possible out of volunteerism, it is important that responsible actors also plan to use volunteers during crisis management. The organizations need to enter municipalities and regions and in state planning, training, and exercises in a systematic way. It must also be possible to write the necessary agreements so that everyone can participate.

Madam Speaker! I also want to mention a little about the Home Guard. The Home Guard contributes to a strong local anchoring and a strong will to defend throughout the country. The Home Guard has been important and is extremely important in the whole country. The Home Guard has also contributed to helping to train Ukrainian soldiers.

Madam Speaker! That civil service is now being activated is good, but the Center Party wants to emphasize that it is important that those performing civil service within the rescue services are, to the greatest extent possible, recruited from local communities around the country to then be placed and partially trained in the local rescue service organizations. With a local presence and civil servants who are recruited locally, the recruitment base for the part-time fire brigade can, at best, also increase.

In the Defense Committee's report Kraftsamling, it was written about precisely the need to be able to provide training throughout the entire country and not only at, for example, MSB's two facilities. In that way, the anchoring becomes better, and the will to be able to help becomes strong in the region one lives and works in. In my own constituency, there is Guttasjön, where Södra Älvsborgs Räddningstjänstförbund is located, and adjacent, including in Skaraborg, there are facilities to train civil-obligated persons within the rescue services. The will for defense and the public anchoring have never been more important than in the time we live in.

Madam Speaker! I truly hope that by next year we will be able to avoid standing here and talking about conditions and index adjustments for various compensations. Adjusting compensations with an index is a low-hanging fruit, and it can be a small step on the way to making the Armed Forces even more attractive. The major strokes of pointing out the direction we obviously need to return to, and we will do so, among other things, in the Defence Preparation's report and in the investigation that is ongoing.

With this, I wish to move for approval of the Center Party's reservation 6.

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Emma Berginger (MP)

Madam Speaker! Let me begin by moving to approve reservation 3.

Sweden's defense, both the military and the civil, ultimately depends on the personnel. The women and men who prepare, practice, and train to protect Sweden and our democracy and constantly work to keep Sweden safe need good conditions and circumstances to fulfill these tasks.

Russia's full-scale and illegal invasion of Ukraine has changed the conditions for Sweden's defense. Sweden is now part of the defense alliance Nato, and the Armed Forces are growing.

Miljöpartiet has for several years supported a faster and more comprehensive reconstruction of both the military and the civil defense. Miljöpartiet simultaneously wants to see a better balance between the military and the civil defense. To meet today's threat picture, we argue that a significantly higher degree of future appropriation increases need to go to the civil defense.

Madam Speaker! In order for the Armed Forces to be able to grow, more people need to undergo basic training with conscription, which is the main recruitment base both when it comes to continuously and temporarily employed soldiers, sailors, and non-commissioned officers, as well as when it comes to further training to officer. This year, 8,000 people are being selected from a cohort of approximately 110,000 people to undergo basic training 2025-2026. Even though the number will increase in the coming years, it is far from everyone who gets or needs to do the basic training. But since the selection is made based on who is deemed suitable, it can happen that someone who very much wants to do the lumpen for various reasons does not get the chance, while someone who would rather not is forced to step up.

Now civil service is also being introduced, which we in Miljöpartiet view positively. We need to be able to ensure a personnel supply even for the civil defense. We have proposed a civil service in the form of a resilience service to ensure that there is personnel within the civil defense and crisis preparedness to handle climate-related crises, for example forest fires and floods.

The Green Party argues that participation in the defense, both military and civil, should be based on voluntariness as far as possible and that there should always be an opportunity for non-military service. But at the same time, conscription and civil service are important tools for manning the defense.

Madam Speaker! A current issue regarding conscription is the question of whether conscripts may have to participate in Nato operations abroad. At present, conscripts can participate in training abroad. But the question now concerns whether conscripts, after basic training, with continued duty, shall be required to participate in Nato's operations.

Miljöpartiet is skeptical about sending conscripts to serve in Nato operations in peacetime. We believe that it is better that those who become our contribution to such operations are professional soldiers, either continuously employed or periodically employed. We mean that military personnel who participate in these operations will do a better job if they are there voluntarily. For example, it could involve persons who, after completing basic training, receive a periodic employment with the Armed Forces in order to be able to serve, for example, at the battalion in Latvia.

It is important that military personnel who are to perform overseas service in NATO operations have good conditions, which make it attractive to participate and contribute to the defense of Sweden and allies' territories.

Madam Speaker! In order for more people to be able to be educated with military service, the number of officers must also increase. I note that even the Crown Princess is now to be educated as an officer. I consider it desirable to review and modernize the regulations for, for example, the daily allowance and the right to housing allowance, so that more students within the total defense can be given conditions that are more equivalent to other students' conditions when it comes to being able to work extra during the summer. This could be achieved through a higher tax-free allowance. It would be of importance for the Armed Forces' opportunities to recruit also older people who have families.

Madam Speaker! Equality is important so that competence within the entire population can be utilized in the defense. The conditions for carrying out the mission must be good, whether it is about access to materiel, correct clothing and correct protective equipment that fits, or whether it is about conditions to be able to combine the mission with having a family.

The Armed Forces is working to increase the proportion of women at all levels through long-term work with attraction-creating activities within recruitment and personnel development. Work is also being done with gender mainstreaming, systematic equality work, and non-discrimination. But as we have heard previously from the rostrum, there are deficiencies. Cases are uncovered where individuals have behaved inappropriately. Discrimination, sexism, and harassment have occurred. There must be zero tolerance for that.

Madam Speaker! Society's preparedness is entirely dependent on the work carried out within the various voluntary defense organizations. There is valuable competence here that is needed for the total defense as a whole to function. In order for competence and resources within the different organizations to be fully utilized, roles need to be clarified in the relationship between the different actors, and measures need to be taken to improve the conditions for being able to participate in education and training activities within the voluntary defense organizations.

Madam Speaker! The rescue services are the most important resource for rapid interventions in accidents, fires, and floods. The rescue services are also central to the total defense, which is why a functioning rescue service strengthens all parts of our total defense. Even though the rescue services are primarily the responsibility of the municipalities, voluntary organizations are important partners. The rescue services need to be strengthened, and the recruitment of part-time personnel needs to be facilitated so that good crisis preparedness can exist throughout the country.

In conclusion, Madam Speaker! Tomorrow, the Defense Commission is expected to present its final report. As has been said here earlier, we are still working on the final details. It has been an intensive negotiation process. Without revealing too much, I am confident that we will address the personnel issue in a comprehensive manner in this report. I ask all viewers to take part in the Defense Commission's report, which will be released tomorrow.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Göran Hargestam (SD)

Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by expressing my support for the committee's proposal in the report.

Madam Speaker! Tonight we are debating the report FöU3 Personnel Supply. In my speech, I will focus on the importance of us creating good conditions for all the reserve officers who constitute the backbone of the Armed Forces' leadership.

There are currently about 7,000 employed reserve officers in the Armed Forces. There is a shortage of reserve officers who actually serve. The need for reserve officers will increase in the coming years, which is why it is of great importance for the defense capability to get more to want to train and serve as a reserve officer.

The reserve officer is a fixed-term officer who serves periodically in the Armed Forces. The reserve officer's primary employment and income are in their civilian work. The obligation to serve in the Armed Forces exists, of course, during high readiness and when a service order has been accepted, but not before that.

Are there sufficiently many obstacles for the reserve officer to serve, is there an imminent risk that the reserve officer will be forced to decline service with the consequence that the defense capability is negatively affected. To a large extent, it is the conscripts and reserve officers who provide the growth of our defense, so every obstacle to service or competence development should be removed.

The average age in the reserve officer corps is high. To meet retirements and achieve a balanced age structure, more newly graduated reserve officers are needed. Therefore, training for reserve officers should also be facilitated. More training paths are needed, and the number of places in the reserve officer training should increase significantly.

Madam Speaker! There are different ways to remove the obstacles that exist today. I will give some examples of measures that could facilitate and increase the profession's attractiveness.

It is about securing the right to study leave and deferral of civil studies. Today, those who wish to train as or serve as a reserve officer do not have the right to leave or deferral of civil studies.

It is about changing CSN's rules so that the current reserve officer premium is exempted from the amount that sets the ceiling for how much a student may earn to receive student aid.

It is about writing off civilian student debts by a certain amount for every week the reserve officer serves in the Armed Forces.

There are further measures that could facilitate and increase the attractiveness of the reserve officer profession.

It is about the legal right to leave of absence from a civilian employer. Since no explicit legal right to leave of absence exists, the individual risks a conflict with their civilian employer in order to serve in the Armed Forces.

It is about removing the 3/8 rule in the officers' ordinance. With today's and tomorrow's officer shortage, it is not reasonable to prevent the reserve officer from serving for more than three years during an eight-year period.

Even loss of income prevents the reserve officer from serving in the Armed Forces in some cases, and it affects the reserve officer's pension.

In order for the Armed Forces to be able to recruit to the extent required, good recruitment routines alone are not sufficient. The agency also needs to be an attractive employer that can retain and develop its staff. The reprioritizations between the appropriations for 2024 and 2025 in the budget initiatives for the military area for 2024 were made, among other things, with the aim that the Armed Forces should be able to allocate resources to attract, recruit, and retain staff.

Madam Speaker! The Swedish Armed Forces' most important asset is its personnel. If we do not strengthen the personnel supply, we will not succeed in making our defense grow to the extent that is required. Creating good employment conditions for our reserve officers will also lead to more people choosing the officer profession.

The National Audit Office's review of continuously employed soldiers shows that many leave after only a few years. The reasons are mixed - several of those who have left state as reasons, among others, that they have had difficulty obtaining leave, and those who have been granted leave state that the loss of income in connection with the leave is an aggravating circumstance. Some also state the deficiencies in training activities or personal equipment as a reason for choosing to terminate their employment.

In order for more people to choose to become reserve officers, they shall be offered the right to leave of absence without reduction of salary during service. In the first instance, that issue shall be handled by the parties in the labor market, but we can and should create good conditions for the parties to reach an agreement on the issue.

Madam Speaker! Work within the Armed Forces is a profession where one is expected to be mobile and able to move to different locations in Sweden. With Sweden's NATO membership, we can expect overseas service to an increasing extent. For longer service assignments, it is a common request that next of kin, such as children and partners, are allowed to accompany for shorter or longer periods. In that case, it is important that there are good conditions also for those accompanying, regardless of whether it is men, women, or children accompanying their serving partner or guardian.

Staffing

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 2 May.)

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