The case in a nutshell Gro-Anita Olsen Sætrum, an ambulance worker with over 15 years of experience, has been summoned to a meeting with her unit manager and a lawyer at Finnmarkssykehuset after sharing an news article together with a text on her Facebook page. She claims that several of her colleagues have received verbal warnings after expressing their opinions on Facebook, and that there is a culture of fear among the employees. Finnmarkshykehuset will not comment on the matter. Vidar Strømme, specialist director at the Norwegian Institute for Human Rights (NIM), confirms that limited freedom of expression in working life is a known problem. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I published an news article together with a text on my Facebook page. Two days later I was summoned to a meeting with my unit manager and the lawyer at Finnmarkssykehuset. That’s what Gro-Anita Olsen Sætrum says. She has worked in the ambulance service for over 15 years. In addition, she has been a safety representative for over three years. The article Sætrum refers to was about several critical conditions in the ambulance service in Finnmark. Both the trade union and the medical association submitted a letter of concern to the state administrator regarding this. A clarification meeting Sætrum refers to the notice letter. – In the meeting, I will explain what I have written on my Facebook page, she says. In addition, she thinks it is strange that a lawyer is involved in the meeting. According to her, it is usually the HR department that works on such matters. This is the post that Sætrum published on Facebook. Facsimile: SCREEN DUMP FROM FACEBOOK. DATE: 24/10/2024 – As far as I know, I have not broken any laws. Therefore, I do not understand why a lawyer is involved in the meeting, says Sætrum. When Sætrum was a safety representative, she reported several violations of the law at Finnmarkssykehuset. In a post where she also links to news’s article, she makes a sharp criticism of Finnmarkssykehuset’s management: “Finnmarkssykehuset uses the proverb “Here you mean more”, but over x number of years it has been revealed that this is not necessarily the case. That they (…) don’t get tired of always having to answer for offenses committed in the service and cover up the truth, that’s a mystery to me”. Read this entire post in its own fact box. This is what Sætrum wrote in his post: Finnmarkssykehuset uses the proverb “Here you mean more”, but over x number of years it has been revealed that this is not necessarily the case. That they don’t get tired of always having to answer for offenses committed in the service and cover up the truth is a mystery to me. There are not many managers who can walk out of their jobs in pre-hospital clinics with their heads held high and that must be a little sad. We spend such a large part of our lives at work and so you have actually spent a large part of that time having to mix and match to cover up for each other, offenses and other things. The truth often comes out in the end and the respect you may have had is gone. Love of honor and a desire to do the best for patients and staff are not strong enough, it is the numbers you have to present that are the most important. But what do you do if you have ultimately lost a large herd on the road? No, it doesn’t matter! – The reason I wrote what I wrote is because I have a lot of documentation on violations of the law that occur in the ambulance service at Finnmarkssykehuset. Then the leaders cover for each other. But eventually the truth comes out, she says. In the last two years, Sætrum has been on long-term sick leave, and has not heard from his employer once. – The moment I make a negative statement on Facebook about them, there is no telling how many resources they manage to find, she says. news has been in contact with Trond Carlson, clinic manager at pre-hospital services. He does not wish to comment on the matter. – Unfortunately, we cannot comment on personnel matters in the media, he says. Trond Carlson, clinic manager at pre-hospital services. Photo: Allan Klo / news Sætrum is not the only one who claims that there must be someone in Finnmarkssykehuset who follows the employees’ FB pages. Several of her colleagues are said to have received a verbal warning, after commenting or sharing their opinions on Facebook. – That the employer censors us in this way is quite disturbing, she says. In addition, Sætrum says that freedom of expression is quite strong in the country. But several employees at Finnmarkssykehuset feel censored. – It is a well-known problem that there is a culture of fear among the employees, she says. Sources have told news that they fear losing their jobs if they speak out in critical terms about Finnmarkssykehuset. In addition, Altaposten also experiences that employees are silent. A known problem That employees in public enterprises feel that their freedom of expression is limited is a known problem, according to Vidar Strømme. He is subject director at the Norwegian Institution for Human Rights (NIM). And is an expert on freedom of expression. According to Vidar Strømme, freedom of expression in Norway is very broad. But in practice, public servants feel that freedom of expression is limited. Photo: Charlotte Førde Skomsøy / NIM – According to the Freedom of Expression Commission, lack of freedom of expression in working life is probably our biggest problem. Strømme refers to a survey carried out by the Trade Union’s center for research, investigation and documentation (Fafo). This survey shows that more than 40 percent of public employees feel that they cannot express themselves freely. According to the Civil Ombudsman, being called to a meeting after having made a statement can be an intrusion into an employee’s freedom of expression. – The social problem is that employees speak up too little, and that working life is not well enough trained to accept criticism with goodwill, says Strømme. Published 30.10.2024, at 08.58 Updated 30.10.2024, at 09.17
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Called up for posting an news article on Facebook – news Troms and Finnmark
