Nurses' Pay Formation in Swedish Health Call Centres

• Published in: Gender, work, and organization Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 579 - 599
• Main Author: Back, Monica Andersson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2009
• Subjects: Gender pay gap; Gender studies; health call centres; Health Care Services; Income Inequality; Labour relations; Market positioning; Nurses; Nursing; Pay; pay formation; Sweden; Sweden industrial relations
• ISSN: 0968-6673; 1468-0432
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2009.00443.x

This article analyses the pay formation process for nurses in the new organizational form of health call centres (HCCs) in Sweden. It finds that HCC tele‐nurses have gained a better labour market position than both the average call centre employees in other sectors and some other nurses. This specialization of the nursing occupation may thus have importance for gendered pay formation in public healthcare. In evaluating pay formation, the article draws on case studies carried out by the author. It analyses the shift from centralized bargaining towards more decentralized and individualized pay formation and the importance of union organization, economic and professional factors that have contributed to relatively higher pay for these workers. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of this process for the gender pay gap in the state sector and limitations to future gains.