New red-green government platform - what can it mean for the working life of the future?

Social and working life policy has been a central theme in the election campaign and there has been great tension around the outcome of the government negotiations in this regard. On Wednesday 13 October 2021, we received several clarifications when the new government platform was announced. We summarize the main points in the Hurdal platform that concern working life law. The document in its entirety can be found here.

 1. Reintroduce collective right to bring an action

The Government wants to reintroduce collective right to bring an action to prevent illegal hiring and work-related crime.

Previously, trade unions could sue employers on behalf of employees, e.g. on suspicion of illegally hired labour. This access was removed by the Solberg government in 2015 but will now in all probability be reintroduced. The Government will also consider expanding the area of collective right to bring an action.

2. Strengthen employees' rights through amendments to the Working Environment Act

The Støre-government will strengthen the rights of employees in a changing working life. They make it clear that full and permanent positions must be the main rule, and that the Working Environment Act must be strengthened and renewed to meet developments in working life. They will therefore quickly follow up on the proposals from the Fougner Committee on future working life (see our summary of the report here).

The Government wants the following changes, among other things:

• Remove the general access to temporary employment in the Working Environment Act § 14-9 second paragraph f). This so-called "quota rule" means that employees can be employed temporarily for up to 12 months, without having to refer to one of the grounds in the second paragraph of the provision a) to e).

• Tighten the possibility of circumventing employer liability. The Government wants to ensure that those who in reality decide how the work is to be carried out have rights and obligations as an employer. This can e.g. entail that parent companies in a group receive (shared) employer responsibility in certain areas.

• Initiate legal work to
  • (i) limit the scope and role of the staffing industry and
  • (ii) clarify the regulations for sent out workers, i.e., workers who work for a limited period of time in a country other than the employment relationship to which they are usually attached.

• Ensure that pay and working conditions are strengthened through tender processes, division of companies and other changes in company structure.

3. Strengthen employees' right to full-time and full-time positions

The Hurdal platform also makes it clear that permanent and full-time positions should be the main rule in Norwegian working life. In addition to working actively with the social partners to build a "full-time culture", the Government will:

• strengthen the right to full-time employment in the law by requiring the employer to document that there is a need for a part-time position and

• strengthen the preferential right that part-time employees have to an extended position rather than the employer making new employment in the company (currently regulated in the Working Environment Act § 14-3).

 4. Increased focus on the fight against social dumping and work-related crime

A common thread in many of the proposals is to strengthen the fight against social dumping and work environment crime. This should be done in different ways. Among other things, the Government will strengthen the role of the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, increase its capacity for on-site inspections and increase the Authority's use of overtime charge. More controversial is probably that the Government wants to give unions increased influence and authority both in general and in the fight against social dumping and work-related crime in particular. How this is to be done is more unclear.

5. Reintroduce holiday pay supplements for the temporarily laid-off and unemployed

As part of the work to strengthen the welfare services, the Government also wants to reintroduce holiday pay supplements for the temporarily laid-off and unemployed. This was a scheme that was removed by the Solberg-government in 2015.

 6. Amend the Act on Mandatory Occupational Pensions

The Government also has a stated goal of a good and fair pension for all. Therefore, the Government will change the law on mandatory occupational pensions, so that pensions are given from the first krone (Norwegian currency -- NOK).

 7. Incorporate the ILO's core conventions into the Human Rights Act

Finally, the Government also aims to incorporate the ILO's core conventions into the Human Rights Act (ILO: International Labour Organization). The purpose of this seems in part to be to be able to give Norwegian collective agreements priority over EEA legislation. In this way, the proposal can have political and social explosive power far beyond what one might think at first glance.

Then time will tell which of the measures will actually be implemented in the coming four-year period…

Time will tell which measures will gain a political majority and what the legislative changes will ultimately look like. There is reason to believe that the Government will lean to the socialist side on many of these issues. This suggests that the changes will in any case not be less employee- / union-friendly than what the Hurdal-platform expresses. What is certain is that there will be significant changes in working life legislation and that these will affect employers to a great extent. We will keep you updated as the changes materialize.