The square was half-full with engaged Skellefteå residents and Northvolt workers.
The vision of a square overflowing like it did during AIK's spring championship remained unrealized, but half the space was alive with a palpable sense of determination.
Skellefteå residents joined numerous Northvolt workers from abroad in the demonstration. Union representatives and other speakers highlighted the hardship inflicted on foreign workers who had uprooted their lives for a future in Skellefteå.
Per Lindbäck, organiser, made the first speech.
They particularly criticised the three-month work permit rule for non-EU labour immigrants, as well as the requirement for a monthly salary of 28,480 kronor. The rules were described as not being intended to help the workers, but to make it easier to send them away.
"What kind of country do we choose to be? One that reduces people to statistics, or one that honors those who contribute their utmost?" Victoria Hart, a speaker, stated.
Those who sustain our industries are treated as expendable. What kind of society do we aspire to be?
– Malin Berglund from IF Metall emphasized that Sweden must capitalise on battery expertise, partly because the security situation in the world is so unstable.
The speakers emphasized that the crisis affects not only individual Northvolt workers but also their families.
But it became most emotional when Gizem Metin took the stage.
– We are paying the price for this. I don't want words, I want action. I want you to make the rich pay for this, because I can't afford to pay for it.
Gizem Metin believes that Northvolt should be nationalized.
–This is not the playground of the rich. Isn’t this the biggest bankruptcy in Sweden, right? You pay taxes, and they play with your money.
Many had made placards to express their demands, feelings, and wishes.
Many Northvolt workers had gathered to demonstrate.
Many had made placards to express their demands, feelings, and wishes.
Many had made placards to express their demands, feelings, and wishes.
Ezazul Haque from Bangladesh was at the square with his family. He works at Revolt, his wife works for the municipality, and he agrees that the rules for those who contribute to the Swedish economy must change. As the situation stands now, he has difficulty knowing what to do.
–We don’t know what’s going to happen. Should we try to find a new job or wait – and for how long? I’ve woken up from a dream. It’s like a nightmare.
Ezazul Haque hoped that the demonstration would lead to a change in the rules for labour immigration.
Archa Asha Harikumar, a technician at Northvolt, is from India. She worries about whether she will be able to find a job within three months after being laid off.
–I know people from the previous layoff who haven’t been able to find a job. I have a degree, but I also think about those who don’t – for them, it’s really tough, she says.
Archa Asha Harikumar and Natalie Sundkvist, though doing the same job, now face dramatically different futures due to the crisis.
Her friend Natalie Sundkvist has the same job and started at Northvolt at the same time.
– I have my Swedish safety net, but I feel so bad for my new Northvolt family, she says.
What are your hopes today?
–We hope that everyone hears us. That companies hear us and can help us find jobs