The concerns come out in a series of reports that were delivered to the government in the last week before the strike was called off. On the evening of 27 September, the government stopped the teachers’ strike with a forced pay committee. Then the teachers’ strike had lasted since June. But were the consequences so great and the connections so clear that it was enough to stop the strike? It will be discussed. – Tynt For now, the government has published the bill they must present after notifying the compulsory wage board. news has also gone through the reports that were the basis for the government’s decision. Great uneasiness is expressed there. But both the teachers and political opponents of the government think the foundation looks vague and thin. Strikes are workers’ weapon to fight for better wages. But if the strike has serious social consequences, the government can cancel it. The National Salary Board then decides what the salary will be in the end after the Storting has formally adopted the compulsory salary board. Therefore, the question of the basis for calling off the strike is important. WAGE COMMITTEE: After a meeting with the parties, Labor Minister Marte Mjøs Persen (Ap) announced that the teachers’ strike was called off on 27 September. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news Reports of concern There were reports of concern from parents, pupils, health personnel and school principals around the country while the strike was going on. But only after the middle of September, reports were systematically submitted to the government from among others the state administrators, and the wording in these reports gradually became more serious. On Friday 16 September, news said that at that time no one had been commissioned to report on the consequences of the strike. Education Minister Tonje Brenna has written to the Storting that the government followed along the whole way. But the first strike consequence report from the Directorate of Education, which the government mentions in the bill, is from precisely 16 September. That particular report is on just one A4 page. READ: The Directorate of Education’s report 16/9 But then the reporting was stepped up thoroughly. Among the most important documents were these: The state administrators send reports on consequences to the Directorate of Education with a deadline of 20 September They send new reports on the same topic with a deadline of 27 September The Institute of Public Health was asked to summarize knowledge about school closures and mental health, the memo was delivered on 22 September In addition, the Directorate of Health asked for a report on the health consequences on 26 September. In the press release from the government on the evening of 27 September, Minister of Labor Marte Mjøs Persen explained to the wage board that there were now serious social consequences for children and young people. She was particularly concerned about the education of the pupils, vulnerable children and young people, and their mental health. If one reads the reports received by the government, it may appear that the Minister of Labor had good reason to intervene. The teachers reacted sharply against the use of the compulsory pay commission when it came. – It is disappointing and will probably force a debate about the balance of power in Norwegian working life, said Steffen Handal on 27 September. And despite reports with serious wording, Handal is no more lenient today after he has read the bill from the government. He believes the government has not presented documented causal links between the strike and young people’s health. – This is thin and general, he says to news. – I think the explanation from the government is of a very general nature. The focus will be on groups of pupils who will have challenges anyway. If this is to be the basis for ending a strike, the right to strike for teachers in Norway has been limited. – But isn’t a government obliged to react to such serious reports of concern that come here? – Yes, they have to react, but they should consider and introduce compensatory measures. And an exemption from the strike should have been applied for in some cases. A general concern cannot be enough to stop a strike. Saw the pandemic In the report the Institute of Public Health sent the government on 22 September, the most important thing was about the disappearance of social meeting places, says Heidi Aase, who is department director in the department for children’s health and development at FHI. The experiences from the pandemic weighed heavily in the report. – The fact that a social arena is gone is a relevant comparison. The school creates meeting places for children and young people who might not otherwise be chosen or are preferred in their free time, she says to news. – Meeting at school is an opportunity to meet others. She nevertheless explains that FHI does not have the knowledge to demonstrate any direct causal link between the strike and mental illness among children and young people. But she says the knowledge from similar situations is certain enough to say that the risk for many Norwegian pupils was great. – Why is 14,000 a relevant number in this context? – It is an estimate. About 20 per cent of children and young people have defined mental difficulties or ailments, she says, citing learning difficulties, eating disorders and difficult home situations as examples. – 14,000 pupils is a relevant figure because there are questions about how children and young people are affected. Then we have taken as a starting point how those who are already vulnerable are affected. OVERALL ASSESSMENT: The government assessed both FHI’s calculations and a number of other reports, says State Secretary Thomas Norvoll (Ap). Photo: regjeringen.no – FHI’s calculation was part of the basis, says Thomas Norvoll, who is state secretary in the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion, where they made the decision on the compulsory wage board. – But it was a collective assessment, because we also received a number of other reports of concern. It was the collective feedback that made the decision the way it was. – But does the government think it is documented that the strike led to a danger to young people’s health? – What we got here was a very clear feedback from the state administrators and the relevant ministries that we had reached a point where it was no longer justifiable to let the strike go. He points out that there were reports of serious health consequences for a number of individual pupils and that there were reports of increased access to health services for children and young people. – There was no doubt that the strike had reached a point where it had serious consequences for children and young people’s mental health, says Norvoll. Storting opposition CRITICAL: Venstre’s Abid Raja. Photo: Sofie Retterstøl Olaisen / news But the government’s decision and the basis for the decision will meet opposition in the Storting. The left’s Abid Raja believes that the government did not get an overview of the consequences until well into the strike, and that the road to pay rises was then hectic. – Here one has to ask whether the ministry has done its job. They say they followed the situation, but in early September they have no other information than that they have read the newspaper. It may also seem that they have not considered measures other than pay for the students who have been affected. Raja says the Storting has a tradition of supporting a proposal from the government about a compulsory wage commission, but that the Liberals will now consider what they should do. – We have fixed routines for how we follow up on labor disputes, and here there was always contact with the ministries concerned, replies State Secretary Thomas Norvoll (Ap) to Raja’s claim. Raudt has declared that the party will vote against the compulsory wage board. – This is a very weak basis. It is not properly documented that the school strike contributed to mental illness as the government assumed, says Mímir Kristjánsson.
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Feared 14,000 students had worsening psychological challenges – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
