– The demand for Norwegian wages and working conditions will protect workers by promoting a fairer working life, prevent social dumping and counteract low-wage competition, says Minister of Fisheries and Marine Affairs Bjørnar Skjæran (Labor). Together with LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik and the Center Party’s Geir Pollestad, he meets NRK at Rådhusbrygga in Oslo to sign a case that the seamen’s organizations have been fighting for too long. Good atmosphere on the quay. From left: LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik, Minister of Fisheries Bjørnar Skjæran, union leader Johnny Hansen in the Norwegian Seamen’s Association and the Center Party’s Geir Pollestad. Photo: Tore Linvollen / NRK – A historic day, says Skjæran. – In Norway, we have Norwegian pay and working conditions on land. There is no reason for it to be different at sea, says Pollestad. The bill will be sent out for consultation on Monday, the same day as the LO congress opens. – The law will strengthen Norway’s position as a maritime nation and prevent social dumping. Norwegian seafarers will not be outcompeted on salary at home, says LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik. The bill in brief The proposal means that ships in Norwegian domestic shipping and ships that provide maritime services on the Norwegian shelf and in the Norwegian economic zone are subject to a requirement for Norwegian pay and working conditions. The proposal is based on the recommendations of the Holmefjord Committee. As a general rule, the Ministry proposes that ships sailing between Norwegian ports should have Norwegian pay and working conditions. This also applies to day cruises or the like that operate exclusively from one Norwegian port. Ships operating at international speed are not included. For ships on the shelf and in the Norwegian economic zone, the requirement applies when the ship is part of the construction, operation or use of a facility or facility, and the ship is in the Norwegian economic zone or on the Norwegian shelf for at least 30 days or when the ship’s total presence in the Norwegian economic zone or on the Norwegian shelf exceeds three months during a twelve-month period. For cruise ships coming from or going to a foreign port, the requirement for Norwegian pay and working conditions only applies if more than half of the voyage measured in time takes place in Norwegian territorial waters. The purpose of the Act is to promote a fair and decent working life in Norwegian waters and on the Norwegian shelf by ensuring workers on ships Norwegian pay and working conditions. Norwegian wage and working conditions mean provisions on wages, including overtime allowance, shift and shift allowance and inconvenience allowance, which follow from the law and the nationwide collective agreement for NOR-registered ships that are engaged in the same type of business. It is the employer or shipping company that must ensure that the employees receive Norwegian pay and working conditions in accordance with the law. The Norwegian Maritime Directorate is given supervisory authority. (Source Ministry of Trade and Industry) Skeptical shipowners The proposal from the government states that ships sailing between Norwegian ports shall have Norwegian pay and working conditions. This also applies to day cruises or the like that operate exclusively from one Norwegian port. – This may be what we need to lift Norwegian shipping to new heights, making it more attractive for young people to pursue a career at sea, says the LO boss. But the proposal has several exceptions. For example, it does not include ships operating at international speed. Nor do cruise ships that spend less than half of their voyage in Norwegian waters. Harald Solberg, CEO of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, is awaiting the proposal. – Currently, we have more questions than answers, says Solberg and says he has to study the entirety of the consultation proposal before he makes a final statement. – It is important for us to have framework conditions that ensure competition for Norwegian seafarers, but also for Norwegian shipping companies. In international shipping, it is not the case that the salary depends on where the ship sails. There is no Swedish salary in Sweden and Danish salary in Denmark. We have to have rules that can apply across national borders when sailing internationally. The delimitation in the proposal will be absolutely crucial in that context, says Solberg. Harald Solberg, CEO of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, denies that there is social dumping on Norwegian ships and says the proposal to the government so far leaves more questions than answers. Photo: Tore Linvollen / NRK Jubler Today, only every fourth ship that sails more than 10 days in Norway is listed in the ship register with Norwegian pay and working conditions. The seafarers’ organizations believe that Norwegian shipowners will lose competition with foreign shipowners, as the rules are now. – The problem is that Norwegian shipowners and Norwegian seafarers are outcompeted. This is because you can sail on terms that are not on a par with what it should be in Norway, says Hans Sande, who is CEO of the Norwegian Naval Officers’ Association. LO comrades Hans Sande in the Norwegian Naval Officers’ Association and Johnny Hansen in the Norwegian Seamen’s Association are looking forward to new rules. Photo: Tore Linvollen / NRK Now the three organizations representing Norwegian seafarers are excited about how a new bill will turn out. – This will be an acid test of how Norwegian shipowners intend to secure the maritime cluster. Do they continue to choose foreign seafarers, when it costs the same to have Norwegian? asks Jonny Hansen in the Norwegian Seamen’s Association. Read: Hurtigruten stops here for 45 minutes – it changes the hourly wage on board to a fraction The Norwegian Machinery Association, which is organized in Unio, also finds reason to praise the government. CEO, Hege-Mereth Bengtsson of the Norwegian Machinery Association, says they will now familiarize themselves with the content and respond to the consultation. Photo: Vigdis Askjem – A long-standing battle is crowned with victory. A battle that dates back to the 80s and which gained renewed strength during the oil crisis in 2014, says Hege-Mereth Bengtsson in the machine union to NRK. Seafarers on foreign ships currently have salaries that are significantly lower than the Norwegian level. Bengtsson believes the change in the law will make it more attractive to employ Norwegian seafarers. – For the government, it is an important principle that Norwegian seafarers should not be outcompeted at home by workers with far lower wages, says Skjæran. Reefs in the sea Solberg in the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association also questions how the new rules can be enforced in practice for foreign ships sailing in Norwegian waters. – Because if this can not be checked against foreign shipping companies, then this is a very weak proposal, he says. When asked if she is confident that the regulations will hit well enough, LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik answers as follows: – Now it is always the case that when you adopt new laws and regulations, those who like to imagine that they can take advantage this, they will try to get to it. But I think we now have a much better basis for avoiding social dumping along our coast than we have had in the past. The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, for its part, denies that there is social dumping on Norwegian ships. – We completely disagree that there is social dumping on Norwegian ships. We are very concerned about orderly pay and working conditions and therefore the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association also negotiates collective agreements with other countries’ seafarers’ organizations, says Solberg. He believes the government should have chosen other measures than legislative changes and says it would have been better to secure the so-called net salary scheme instead. The scheme ensures support for the shipping companies to employ Norwegian seafarers. EEA The competition provisions in the EEA agreement may be another blow to the new rules. But the Minister of Fisheries feels confident that the rules will not be overturned by Brussels. – There is a process risk in this bill, but our assessment is that we have drafted the law in line with the international obligations that Norway has, says Skjæran. He also receives full support from LO: – Here the government is brave and utilizes the room for maneuver that we believe lies in the EEA agreement, says LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik. – So here you are ready to fight against Brussels? – If it should become relevant, then we certainly are. LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik and Minister of Fisheries Bjørnar Skjæran are prepared to challenge Brussels if the bill were to challenge the EEA agreement. Photo: Tore Linvollen / NRK
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Promises seafarers Norwegian wages in Norwegian waters – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
