It was during the ongoing LO conference at Gol that the violent episode is said to have occurred on Wednesday evening. The conference gathers around 200 guests and participants for political debate and brainstorming. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was among the speakers on Wednesday. It was after the Prime Minister left Gol that it became physical. One of the tops in the employers’ association Spekter is said to be injured. Confederation leader in NTL, Kjersti Barsok, confirms that one of their union representatives has been involved and has been reported to the police. – We take it very seriously, and treat this as a personnel matter with us now, says Barsok. – Violence is always unacceptable, regardless of context, she adds. Kjersti Barsok is the head of the Norwegian Civil Service Association (NTL). Photo: William Jobling / news – A very sad ending – There has been an incident of violence where one of my colleagues has been subjected to violence, and that relationship has been reported to the police, says Spekter manager Anne-Kari Bratten. She says the incident must have happened at night. – I think it is a very sad end to a very good conference, says Bratten. – I have never experienced this. I have never experienced any of my colleagues being subjected to violence. It is completely unacceptable. The Spekter summit is now looked after by the management of the organisation. According to Bratten, he will see a doctor, but according to her, he seems to be in good physical shape. Managing director of the Employers’ Association Spekter Anne-Kari Bratten says that she has received complaints from both LO Stat and NTL. Photo: William Jobling / news Police station chief in Hallingdal, Brit Fyksen, confirms that on Thursday morning they received a report from an offended person. – We have coded the case as a physical violation. There is an offended person who has given an explanation to us this morning, says Fyksen. Fyksen explains that there is a suspect in the case. As of now, no one has the status of being charged. The police are now working to clarify the sequence of events, and will make contact with witnesses who are said to have been present. The police will speak to witnesses to map out the sequence of events, says police station chief Brit Fyksen. Photo: William Jobling / news Says it was unprovoked – We are very, very sorry, says Henriette Jevnaker, deputy leader of LO Stat. She says that a crisis team was immediately set up when they heard about the incident. – What I have been told is that this was a completely unprovoked incident of violence that happened after our Christmas dinner. – It is dramatic. We have zero tolerance for this type of incident. It must be safe to participate and be a guest at the cartel conference. Henriette Jevnaker is deputy leader of LO Stat. Photo: William Jobling / news In the lobby of Pers Hotell LO’s cartel conference takes place at the experience hotel Pers Hotell in Gol. According to the hotel manager, the participants were each given three drink vouchers to use throughout the evening, which could be used until the bar closed at 03.00. But hotel manager Per Rustberggard says that the incident must have happened in the hotel lobby long before the bar closed. – We would describe the incident as a minor incident of violence, where there has been a disagreement between two parties. The case was over quickly, and none of our security personnel had to intervene. Still, Rustberggard understands the report, as there is zero tolerance for physical violence at such conferences. The incident must have taken place in the reception area of the hotel. Photo: William Jobling / news LO Stats’ cartel conference at Gol annually gathers around 200 shop stewards, ushers, press and guests from home and abroad. The conference has traditionally been a political workshop for debate and the launch of new ideas. This year’s conference takes place from 22 to 24 November. In an earlier version of this case, we used the wording fight. This is imprecise as there is currently only one person who has been reported for violence.
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