Published December 17, 2024 at 11:37 a.m.
Inrikes. A new platform, Tjänstemannakollen.se, has been launched to give Swedish citizens the opportunity to rate public officials. However, this is causing great concern among affected bureaucrats, reports Bjäre.nu.
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Behind the initiative is Joakim Malmberg from Båstad, who describes the service as a tool to strengthen democracy and increase transparency in public administration.
However, the platform has been met with harsh criticism from several quarters, not least from municipal representatives and trade unions.
Joakim Malmberg says that the idea for Tjänstemannakollen grew out of his own experiences of conflicts with government officials. The site makes it possible to anonymously rate civil servants within municipalities, regions and state agencies. The aim is to give citizens a chance to express their experiences of civil servants' treatment, transparency and efficiency.
– An individual official has the ability to take something away from you. If this person lacks competence, there can be consequences, says Joakim Malmberg to Bjäre.nu.
The reviews are verified with Bank-id, which Malmberg believes guarantees that the system is secure and that the reviews are reliable. The platform has already had over 40,000 visitors since its launch, although the number of reviews is still limited.
Despite Malmberg's assurances, the reactions from civil servants and their organizations have been anything but positive. The Vision union warns that the platform could lead to a lynch mob mentality and create an unsafe working environment for public employees.
“A lynch mob”
“In a constitutional state, we have other ways of dealing with any wrongdoing that has been committed. Here, a lynch mob can do great damage,” thunders Erik Sellström from the Vision union.
At Båstad Municipality, both HR Manager Lise-Lotte Bergström and Municipal Director Per Borg express concern that the service could lead to civil servants being reluctant to make difficult decisions. Borg believes that the Civil Servants' Check is a threat to legal certainty.
Joakim Malmberg dismisses the criticism as excessive. He emphasizes that the platform is an opportunity to capture citizens' experiences and create a dialogue about justice and responsibility in the public sector.
He also hopes that the service will inspire other media to pay attention to injustices highlighted in the reviews.
Initiative for civil servant responsibility
At the same time, he describes the platform as an initiative to raise the issue of strengthened civil servant responsibility in Sweden.
– Civil servant responsibility is an important part of creating a public sector where justice and professionalism are the basis for every decision, says Joakim Malmberg in a press release.
– We believe that Tjanstemannakollen.se can be a significant step towards more transparent administration, but introducing strengthened civil servant responsibility is crucial to truly increasing trust in our public institutions.