– Now the last resort is to ask the Storting for help, says union secretary Clas Delp in the Swedish Confederation to news. He points out that Fellesforbundet and NHO Reiseliv asked for a meeting with the Ministry of Finance in September, but that it was cancelled. He has the following to say about the fact that Fellesforbundet, as a powerful actor in LO, is now asking the opposition in the Storting for help to overrun an Labor-led government: – We have to deal with the matter. It is the same regardless of who is in government. There are close ties between LO and the current government. The union’s leader Jørn Eggum sits on APS’s central board, and the union gave NOK 1.9 million to APS’s election campaign last autumn. LETTER: The joint union secretary Clas Delp and head of NHO reiseliv Kristin Krohn Devold, here at the start of wage negotiations in 2020, ask the Storting to look at the scheme with wage support. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB Left out Already this summer, news spoke to frustrated companies about the matter. General manager Tarje Haakstad of the Burger chain Døgnvill was one of many who kept employees at work through the corona shutdown this winter, in the hope of getting support from the state to pay salaries. STORTING: General manager Tarje Haakstad of the burger chain Døgnvill is critical of the practice of the wage support scheme. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo / news But there was one big problem: the scheme was not adapted to companies that pay salaries in arrears – as Døgnvill does. – If we had known that the arrangement was interpreted the way it was, we would have opted out and rather taken other measures, Haakstad now tells news. But the government has so far refused to change the scheme. Employers and employees are therefore joining together against the government in a last-ditch attempt to bring about a change, in a letter to the Storting’s “watchdog”: “The senders hereby wish that the control and constitutional committee go into this matter more closely and investigate whether the Storting’s intentions has been followed up,” it says. From what news understands, the matter will be taken up at the committee’s meeting on Tuesday. This is why many tourism companies lose wage support The simple explanation for why they fall outside despite meeting the requirement in the law is that the Norwegian Tax Agency has narrowed down what they believe is the correct way to document whether one meets the requirement, namely with a so-called A-report submitted at the same month. This means that they exclude many people in the accommodation and catering industry, who pay wages afterwards due to the varying number of shifts per month per employee. The A report is a monthly report from the employer to Nav, Statistics Norway and the Tax Agency about the employee’s income, working conditions and withholding tax, as well as employer’s tax and finance tax for the business. The Norwegian Tax Agency’s portal makes a search against an A report. This acts as a control for the agency and makes it easier to double-check the figures. The companies that have turned to NHO have not submitted an A report in January – therefore the Tax Agency believes that they should have NOK 0 in support. (Source: NHO) Vedum says no The letter has been signed by LO’s largest union in the private sector, Fellesforbundet, as well as NHO Reiseliv, NHO Service og Handel, Revisorforeningen og Regnskap Norge. It says that several large hotel chains and catering companies have been refused wage support for one or all months for the scheme last winter. REJECTS: The Minister of Finance will not change the scheme. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB – The reason for this is that wages are paid in arrears in these companies, and thus not “in the month of application”, it says. But Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp) has so far rejected all demands to ask the Tax Agency to interpret the rules in a different way. – If it were to be opened up for enterprises to receive support also for a month where they have had zero as a basis for employer’s contribution, it would have had consequences that undermine the considerations that were the basis for the support scheme, he wrote in a letter to the Storting about the case. The intention in the scheme SV fought last winter to get the scheme with salary support in place. And the party has committed itself to changing the interpretation. INTENTION: SV’s Kari Elisabeth Kaski has challenged the government’s practice of the wage support scheme. Photo: Alf Simensen / NTB SV’s fiscal policy spokesperson Kari Elisabeth Kaski asked Vedum this summer to ensure that the intention of the scheme was taken care of, also for those who pay salaries in arrears. – The reason we have sent this letter is that we believe the government has not implemented the regulations in line with the intentions of the Storting, says Delp in the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions. He believes that through its practice the government has included other assessments than what was in the Storting’s decision. And one of the control committee’s main tasks is to ensure that the government follows up on what the Storting has decided. – In the hotel and restaurant industry, it is quite common and standard practice to pay wages in arrears. This is because the salary consists of a fixed salary and a number of variable supplements. The employer must have an overview of these variable supplements before the salary is paid, he says. Million loss Haakstad in Døgnvill does not know exactly how much he has lost because his company fell outside the scheme, but says it is around one million kroner. He thinks it is “very neat” that the case is now being recorded for the control committee. – I think it is important that this case is resolved, also considering that you should have the opportunity to use something similar again, says Haakstad. – If it stays as it is now, I don’t think many people will go for a similar solution at the next crossroads. – What appeal do you now have to the Storting politicians? – It must be that they ensure that the support is paid out as predicted. It is just an interpretation that should be relatively easy to clean up.
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