For over 100 years, ships have been built at Ulstein Verft in Møre og Romsdal. In January 2020, a number of agencies, including the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority, lined up at the gate. Wages, working hours and contracts were now to be checked. The unannounced visit was the first in “Operation yard”. For two years, foreign companies with workers at shipyards in Møre og Romsdal have been investigated. news has previously mentioned that workers told about an hourly wage of 30 kroner while building cruise ships. Time lists that did not vote At Ulstein Verft, nine workers from the Lithuanian company Izoton were called in for an interview. Among other things, they build walls and roofs on ships. In recent years, the company has worked at several Norwegian shipyards. The Lithuanian company Izoton advertises on its website, among other things, for the work they have done on board the Hurtigruten ship Roald Amundsen. This ship was built at Kleven Verft in Ulsteinvik in 2019. Photo: Izoton’s website The workers told about working weeks which were usually 54 hours. It is legal through an agreement with shop stewards, something the company had. But Izoton’s own time sheets showed much shorter weeks. Only 37.5 hours. Who was right? The yard confirmed that normal working hours for subcontractors were 54 hours a week. And that workers used access cards through the gate. Thus, it was possible to check when they actually came and went. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority received the port log for the nine Izoton employees. news has a copy of it. The log shows working weeks of 54 hours plus overtime. Since the workers’ words were confirmed by the yard and the gate lists, the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority concluded that the timesheets from Izoton were false. According to the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority’s section chief, Jens Erik Romslo, it is not uncommon for them to suspect false documentation. – Such assessments are demanding. On paper, everything looks fine. But when we talk to the workers, they tell us something else. Then we have to do some detective work, he says to news. One third of the salary was missing The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority also checked the salaries of Izoton’s workers. The pay slips showed the minimum wage if you calculated 37.5 hours a week. However, as the audit had concluded with far more working hours, a third of the salary was missing. In addition, overtime pay was missing. In other words, large parts of the workers’ wages were not paid. – We take this very seriously. This is a case of gross exploitation of vulnerable employees, says Romslo. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority decided to give Izoton a financial slap. They calculated that the company had saved almost 200,000 kroner on underpayment of the nine workers over three months. – It is conceivable that the savings were even greater. But we had to use the documentation we had, says Romslo. As a general rule, an infringement fee must exceed the gain of the offense. Izoton received a fee of 600,000 kroner. – An infringement fee stings because it goes straight to the wallet. It has proven to be effective, especially in work-related crime, says Romslo. Workers told about muzzle But Izoton refused to pay the fee. Instead, they sued the state. news was present during the trial in Oslo District Court in May. “There is not enough evidence in the case and there is no question of repetition,” said Izoton’s lawyer, Sandra Latotinaite. She asked the court to drop the fee. State Attorney Omar Saleem Rathore completely disagreed. – These are systematic and planned actions, he said. Rathore also drew up another audit of the company, which was not part of the lawsuit. In October 2021, Izoton’s workers at the Vard Langsten shipyard, in Møre og Romsdal, were checked. news was present during this supervision. When the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority asked Izoton’s workers about wages, several of them would not answer. They said they would be fired if they stated their salary, and that this was stated in their contract. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority noted this in its interview report. When news now asks Izoton’s lawyer about this, she rejects the muzzle. – In the submitted employment agreements, there is nothing to indicate that the company’s employees have been barred from informing public authorities about their salaries, Latotinaite says. She claims the workers provided “complete information about their wages”. This is rejected by the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority. – Some of the employees have stated hourly wages on the form. One has tried to delete what he first wrote about salary, says Romslo. Here, workers from the companies Dalmas and Izoton, who worked at the Vard Langsten shipyard in October 2021, are interviewed. news has slapped the workers on the face. Photo: Kjetil Solhøi / news The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority also examined Izoton’s time sheets from Vard Langsten. They agreed with what the workers said. And the yard had no port log to compare with. – Wage slipper showed minimum wage. We have also seen bank statements that show that they got what was on the pay slip, says Romslo. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority also checked what salary had been reported to the Tax Administration. Some months the hourly rate was below the minimum wage, while other months well above. It was considered probable that the workers as a whole received the minimum wage during the period. The case was closed without any order for improvement. – The company is satisfied with the result of the audit, says Izoton’s lawyer to news. Lawyer Sandra Latotinaite represents Izoton. Photo: PRIVATE Sentenced to pay Now a verdict has been handed down in the lawsuit between the state and Izoton about the offenses at Ulstein Verft. Izoton lost on all counts. The judgment states that “there is a significant, systematic and intentional breach on the part of the company – in other words, a strong degree of guilt”. The court also believes that Izoton’s offense probably took place over a longer period of time and concerned more than the nine workers that the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority controlled. Attorney Omar Saleem Rathore at the Attorney General represented the state in the case against Izoton. Photo: Arne Fredrik Næss / news – The court also agrees with the state that the violations must be characterized as serious in nature and extent, and that this type of violation of the rules of working life must provoke reactions. We are very pleased with the verdict, says the state’s lawyer Omar Saleem Rathore to news. Izoton’s lawyer says it can not be “accepted that decisions are based on something you believe versus something you know”. – The decision leaves doubt as to whether the court has set sufficient requirements for the quality and strength of the evidence. Latotinaite adds: – The current practice of the regulations is also inconsistent. It appears arbitrary who is charged the infringement fee and how large the fees are. Izoton is considering appealing the verdict. Want more controls The CEO of Ulstein Verft, Cathrine K. Marti, tells news that they take all violations of the regulations on minimum wage seriously. – We also encourage more unannounced inspections. This will help reduce the risk of breaches of regulations in the supply chains and contribute to more equal conditions of competition, she says. Marti says that the yard is now updating routines and checklists. This is done in light of the findings from «Operation yard». – We will also add more inspections of the subcontractors, she says. According to Marti, Ulstein Verft has not found any discrepancies with subcontractors since the audit in 2020. Read the entire report after “Operation yard” here.
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