Where we left you off
DSA ran a survey in early 2025 and asked doctoral students what they thought of their employment. After receiving 501 responses across all KI departments, we shared the results with you and were planning on meeting up with the trade union SACO-S and various KI leadership figures. Before moving on to discuss that, feel free to go back and have a look at the original results in case you are new at KI or have forgotten, or missed, them.
Since then
Since April when we published the results of our survey, we have had two meetings with the trade union SACO-S (so far), and have communicated the results with KI indirectly through our network of Central KI Representatives. In a similar way to the way we structured the survey, our discussions have revolved around 3 areas: 1) Work environment, 2) Better salaries, and 3) The salary ladder.
1) Work environment
We had gotten several reports that certain PIs do not allow their doctoral students to take vacation days. Every employee at KI is entitled to a certain number of days off per year, according to the Annual Leave Act (Semesterlagen 1977:480).
This issue was brought up at the KI Safety Committee (skyddskommittén), KI central HR, and SACO-S. All parties agreed that this is unacceptable and a solution is needed. As DSA we suggested that all annual leave requests made by a doctoral student be recorded in primula. That would include all approvals and rejections made by the PI. Having a proper record would ensure that the department can ensure all doctoral students take days off.
Our suggestion is just that, a suggestion. It is on KI central HR to find a suitable solution. One of the members of the SACO-S board mentioned that this is an issue experienced by many post-docs as well, so the solution needs to be applicable to other groups other than doctoral students.
2) Better salaries
SACO-S reassured us they are trying their best to get the best of the negotiations. It would be impossible to have our own representative at the negotiations table, as that is governed by regulations that we cannot change. Despite that, SACO-S are open to having meetings with DSA each year before the negotiations start, to hear what doctoral students actually want.
3) The salary ladder
What we found with our survey is that only 1 in 10 thinks the salary ladder is fair. SACO-S mentioned that this topic has been coming up quite frequently for a while now but were surprised by the numbers that we presented to them. This system has been in place for the last 15 years and is the result of KI wanting to recruit more medical doctors. It works quite well for KI in that regard, so if we want to convince HR on changing it, we will need to give up on something. Unsurprisingly, no-one at KI that we talked to was interested in supporting our cause and they would instead direct us to KI central HR.
After the second meeting with SACO-S, we have a better plan on how to move forward:
A)
The current system allows for doctoral students to negotiate their salary and change to a different salary group if they are invaluable to the project (it is not limited to those with a medical degree). However, no-one knows that because it is hidden in the collective agreement that no-one reads. SACO-S will push KI central HR to rewrite their snabbguide to better reflect what has actually been agreed between them. They will also request that a comprehensive booklet outlining the rights (including that we can negotiate our salary) and responsibilities of doctoral students be included in the initial contract.
B)
We need your input
The ladder cannot be abolished from one year to the next. DSA would like to propose phasing out the existing salary disparities over a period of 5-10 years, gradually reducing the gap between the three salary groups until the ladder becomes insignificant. However, this plan would require implementing more generous annual salary increases for those in the lowest-paid group and smaller increments for those in the highest-paid group.
Our proposal might not be that realistic, however. Here is a scenario to explain why. Assuming a constant 3.4% year-over-year increase in our salaries and a 10% year-over-year decrease in the gap between the different salary groups, it would take 44 years to close the gap:
|
Year
|
Projected suggested salary
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Without medical degree
|
With medical/dentistry degree
|
With license to practice in Sweden
|
|
2025
|
30 900
|
33 600
|
36 000
|
|
2026
|
31 951
|
34 381
|
36 541
|
|
2027
|
33 037
|
35 224
|
37 168
|
|
2028
|
34 160
|
36 128
|
37 878
|
|
2029
|
35 322
|
37 093
|
38 668
|
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
...
|
|
2069
|
134 543
|
134 570
|
134 593
|
And this is where we would like your input. The details need to be ironed out with the help of the trade union but has our proposal the backing of the PhD community at least? If not, can you think of a better approach?
Please reach out to us by sending us an email at [email protected] or contact us using the form above.
