It is with mixed feelings that Caroline Sundberg puts the consultation response on the mailbox.
- We are pleased that the committee wants the responsibility for student rehabilitation to be clearer, but we had hoped that the investigation would have gone further when it comes to part-time sick leave. It is great that students who have special reasons will be able to be on sick leave part-time, but what about everyone else? It is unfair that higher demands are placed on sick students than on other sick people.
What do you write more in the consultation response?
- We write that it is good that the inquiry wants to review the number of qualifying days for students. Our proposal is that the waiting period should be reduced from 30 to seven days for students. We also write that we welcome the fact that the responsibility for student rehabilitation will become clearer. We are also looking for solutions for those students who are without health insurance.
What does it mean to be without health insurance?
- It has to do with the fact that the health insurance is linked to you taking out study grants. The students who do not take out study grants and do not work to a sufficient extent to get health insurance through work are completely without protection if they become ill. An earlier calculation that SFS has produced shows that there are about 28.000 students who do not have health insurance today.
What happens now?
- Now the government will read through all consultation responses and come up with its own proposal. SFS will continue to work to ensure that the proposal that is submitted goes beyond the inquiry's report to ensure that all students have a safer life.
Will you continue to run the campaign Totally Ill?
- We are very pleased that three of the four demands we have pushed for in the campaign are mentioned in the inquiry's report. The campaign will live on for a while longer, but we will not work as externally with the health insurance issue as before.