On 1 January, the new Kindergarten Act entered into force. It states that all private kindergartens must be their own joint-stock companies that deliver complete accounts. – In the worst case, this leads to greater challenges for the students and not least the children. That’s what Jeanette Berger says, who is the safety representative at Moholt student kindergarten. The kindergarten is one of three student kindergartens owned by the Students’ Association in Trondheim (SiT). They have 170 children and 55 employees. Colleague and shop steward in the Norwegian Servants’ Association (NTL), Hanna Clifford, says that SiT has given notice that temporary workers will no longer be employed due to the economy. – We already notice that we are smaller people. In the new year, we didn’t get to go on tour due to low staffing. – When savings are to be made, it often goes beyond us who are on the floor, says Clifford. Hanna Clifford and Jeanette Berger say that they have not been able to go on a trip with the children due to low staffing. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news New law to prevent profit The new law means that several private kindergartens can no longer be organized in the same company. Kindergartens with fewer than 30 children are exempt from the law. For Moholt student nursery school, this means that they can no longer get financed loans from the parent company SiT if needed. Managing director of SiT, Audhild Kvam believes the new law hits the wrong company. – We do not have any owners who sit and collect dividends. Everything we make money on goes back to the students and welfare, so I think it’s unreasonable that we don’t get an exception to the law. Audhild Kvam says SiT has spent approximately NOK one million on establishing the three new companies. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news She says the new law imposes additional costs on the association because they have to set up three new limited liability companies. So far, they have spent approximately one million kroner. – This is money we could spend on student welfare and the quality of the kindergartens. Instead, they must save where they can. According to Kvam, before the law came in, they could more easily bring in substitutes across the kindergartens. Now she is afraid that the partnership will lose the company’s flexibility. – Until now, we have had good arrangements for the students. I’m afraid we might lose it now that the organization is so rigid. State Secretary Kjetil Vevle (Ap), says the requirement for independent legal entities provides absolutely necessary transparency in the kindergartens’ accounts. – The new Kindergarten Act has been introduced to ensure that we have control over whether public subsidies and parental payments go to kindergarten operations. Fears cuts in the offer Head of the student nurseries in SiT, Hilde Kriens says she understands the intention behind the law, but that the cooperatives should have an exception. – The student nurseries are fairly well regulated by law under the Co-operation Act. We have open accounts. Hilde Kriens is afraid that the student-oriented schemes offered by the kindergarten will disappear because of the economy. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news In contrast to ordinary kindergartens, 90 per cent of the children at Moholt have at least one parent who is studying. Kriens says they facilitate the students and that this is something that sets them apart from other kindergartens. – We have an exam guarantee and cultural workshop, which are offered in the evening and on Saturdays. We also have flexible opening hours so that parents can deliver earlier if they need it. When the kindergarten gets less to deal with, she fears this is an offer they will have to cut. The law affects 34 student kindergartens – I am worried that this will affect the pension and other benefits for the employees. That’s what Synnøve Bakken says. She is the main shop steward for NTL. Synnøve Bakken is afraid that the employees will lose good pension schemes when the kindergartens transfer to their own AS. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news She believes, like Berger and Clifford, that bad advice primarily affects the employees in the kindergartens. When all the kindergartens become their own AS, they may lose benefits that were previously included in the special agreement. – Now the employer has withdrawn from the special agreement and that gives us a signal that there might be something they want to get rid of that costs money, we don’t want that. She adds that the law does not only affect the three kindergartens in Trondheim, but a total of 34 cooperative kindergartens in the country. The Student Association in Oslo runs 11 student kindergartens and 500 kindergarten places. According to SiO’s director of communications, Nina Langeland, they have spent NOK 400,000 on organizing the kindergartens in their own companies. SiO also wants to be exempted from the law. – Without exemption from all or part of the new legislation, we will probably eventually have to consider changes to our overall offer as a result of the cost increase. Proposal for regulatory change State Secretary Kjetil Vevle in the Labor Party says the student association’s kindergartens, like other private kindergartens, receive subsidies from the municipality in addition to being able to claim parental allowance under the Kindergartens Act. State Secretary Kjetil Vevle. Photo: Ministry of Education – In order for it to be possible to gain insight into the use of these funds, there must be fully available accounting information for the individual nursery school. Nevertheless, there may be a light in the tunnel for the cooperative’s kindergartens. – The government’s aim is to put forward a proposal for regulatory changes by the end of 2023. There they want the municipalities to have better opportunities to prioritize small privately owned and non-profit daycare centers, says Vevle. Kvam says she is unsure how much more expensive it will be to run the nursery in this way in the long term. – We have to gain some experience with that, but we have to try to run the nursery in the best possible way for the student children.
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New kindergarten law should prevent profit – the student association reacts – news Trøndelag
