Marion Ødegård Karlsen goes through all the orders at the furniture factory for the day. There are many park benches to be made at The Plus at Magnor in Eidskog no. Marion Ødegård Karlsen has not been so busy with the trade union in the past, but now she is even on the club board at her workplace. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news Marion has worked elsewhere before, but has had nothing to do with being part of the trade union. – I don’t actually know if I’ve been organized in all the jobs I’ve had in the past, says Marion. However, at the appointment meeting she was encouraged to become a member of the club. The employer even wanted to pay for her to register. Do you think it is important to be a member of a trade union? Yes👍🏼 No👎🏽 Don’t know🤔 Show result – Together we are strong Frode Wahl assembles a bench that will stand in a park in London. All the plank pieces are carefully studied before he screws them together. Frode Wahl is a trustee in the trade association Industri Energi in The Plus. He is happy that everyone is in the trade union. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news – Everyone is organized here. Looking at the average for the country, not many people have such a high participation rate, says Wahl. He is a trustee in the trade association Industri Energi at The Plus, and believes it is important that the employees stand together in important negotiations. – Together we are strong, he says. In Norway, around half of those in work are organized in a trade union. DEVELOPMENT OVER 50 YEARS: The table shows the development over the last 50 years of how many are unionised. – I have not heard of an employer paying the trade union dues for employees before, says Kristine Nergaard, researcher at Fafo, Institute for Employment and Welfare Research. Wants satisfied employees The Plus is owned by Vestre AS, which is the family business of Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre. The Minister of Trade and Industry owns 70 percent of Vestre AS. The Plus Produces furniture for parks and other public outdoor spaces. The building is shaped like a plus sign and is located in the forest at Magnor in Eidskog. It cost 340 million to build it. The factory was officially opened in June 2022. Around 50 employees work at the factory. The factory is 70 percent owned by Vestre AS, which is the family business of Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre. The Plus was ready and opened its doors literally in June last year. The factory doesn’t just make furniture, but is a visitor factory where people can come and see. Photo: Illustration / Vestre Also at the factory in Torsby, the employer pays for membership of the trade union. And they do the same for all the 50 people who work at The Plus at Magnor. – We believe in a fair labor market with strong parties. We want satisfied employees. It’s close to our hearts, so we pay the dues for those who want to, says Erik Olsson, production director at The Plus. Eirik Olsson, production director at The Plus, says that it is important for the company to be sustainable. – That is why the social aspects of the workplace are also important, he says. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news Olsson believes that satisfied employees lead to increased competitiveness. – We also get a good partner in negotiations to create the best conditions for running a viable industrial company, he says. It was Glåmdalen who mentioned this case first. Up to the company Jon Kristiansen, who is regional director of NHO Innlandet, says that it is up to each individual company and each individual how they organize themselves, but that NHO wants a high degree of organization. Jon Kristiansen, regional director of NHO Innlandet, believes it is important that all parties in the business world cooperate well. Photo: Moment Studio/NHO – We support a well-organized working life, based on good cooperation between all parties. It is necessary to succeed both locally and in major challenges such as the green shift, says Kristiansen. 80 per cent in the public sector are organised, but in private companies less than 40 per cent are members of a trade union. It costs a few thousand a year to join the union, and Marion at The Plus believes that someone would have opted out if they had to pay themselves. Now she no longer doubts that the trade union is important. She has even been on the club’s board. – We stand strong as employees when everyone in production is unionised. It gives us help and support. Researcher: Trade unions will also be important in the future Since the 1990s, the number of trade unions has decreased in Norway. – Perhaps it is the case that many people think that we have such a good working life, that trade unions are not that important. Others may think that the trade unions are there anyway and sort things out and that it is not necessary to join, so-called free passengers, says Nergaard, researcher at Fafo. Kristin Nergaard, who is a researcher at Fafo, believes that there are tendencies in the era of uncertainty in working life and that makes trade unions important. Photo: FAFO She believes the trade unions will be important in the future, as a collective voice towards employers and governing authorities. – We see that new challenges are emerging in working life. New types of employment, for example, fewer people getting permanent jobs, more people having multiple jobs and more precarious working conditions in some industries. She thinks it is a paradox that those who need it the most are those who have most often joined the trade union, and cites the hotel and restaurant industry as an example of this.
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All employees are unionized at the furniture factory The Plus at Magnor in Eidskog – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
