– I was so angry, but mostly sad when I realized that I had been deceived, Fors Spein (64) tells news. What she thought would be at least a four-year long dream job at the Lule Sami center at Drag in Nordland, almost ended with her becoming unemployed. Lis-Mari Hjortfors (60) had a heart attack. – I think that maybe the total load was too much for me, my body couldn’t take it, she tells news. Both are very critical of the way the then director at Árran, Lars Magne Andreassen, treated them. news has previously told how the construction of a kindergarten ended in bankruptcy and distrust of the management in Árran. In the case, it emerged that the Norwegian Foundations Authority concluded that the center had lacked financial management over many years. Now Gry Fors Spein and Lis-Mari Hjortfors tell about what they experienced as objectionable treatment by staff at the Árran Lule Sami centre. Dream job Fors Spein had a permanent job at Midt-Troms Museum in Bardufoss. In December 2020, she received an email from director Lars Magne Andreassen. – I was very happy, because I was going to work with the art of Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Gry Fors Spein tells news. She was among the professionals who had gained the best knowledge of the artist’s works. For two years she had sat with Mathisen and learned everything about art, and not least how to take care of the art collection. – This was a dream job for me, says the 64-year-old. Because in 2018, Hans Ragnar Mathisen had donated his entire collection to Árran, somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 works of art. In 2022, Mathisen received the Order of St. Olav, and was also appointed an honorary doctorate at UiT Norway’s Arctic University. – It was a big mistake Gry Fors Spein quit his job in Bardufoss and sold the flat, moved to Drag in Hamarøy and started his new job. After three months in the job, she got her first employment contract. – It says a one-year commitment, not four. I ask about this and get the answer that this was a temporary contract and that I would get a new contract later. Fors Spein signs the contract. But she never got a new contract with a four-year commitment, on the other hand, Fors Spein had to quit when the one-year commitment reached the end date. – It was a big mistake, in retrospect I have realized that I was tricked. – But I thought when I signed that I have a written offer of four years. I thought the best of Árran, not that they would deceive me. She has consulted a lawyer. – He says I have a good case, that I have been deceived. But I have not decided whether I will proceed with the case. She has now moved back to Bardufoss and got a 60 percent position with her old employer. Part of the reason why Gry Fors Spein still did not get a four-year contract was that Árran had to reduce the workforce. The major economic problems with large deficits were the background to that. The center started a major restructuring process. Couldn’t speak Sami – had to go Lis-Mari Hjortfors believes she became seriously ill as a result of the treatment she was subjected to by the director. She had worked as a senior adviser at the Árran Museum since 2008. In 2021, Hjortfors was told that she was made redundant. – I have 37 years of seniority as a museum worker. I was also doing a PhD in ethnology when I was told I was redundant. – I cannot understand why my seniority and education did not have more value, says Hjortfors. Photo: Ronald Pulk / news When Árran began to survey the employees’ skills in connection with the changeover, Lis-Mari Hjortfors ended up at the bottom of the list. news has seen the documents. In these, the language requirement is highlighted as one of the most important criteria. Lis-Mari feels that she was discriminated against because of the language. – Lack of Sami language had not been a problem before, but suddenly, after 13 years at Árran, I was pushed away. This affected me a lot. First, due to Norwegianisation, you have not acquired the language, and again you are in a way punished for the same, she says. In the competence document you can also see that another employee who has two years less seniority than Hjortfors has, was allowed to continue as a senior adviser at the museum. That the person in question knows Sami was, among other things, emphasized by the director. Affected by illness The last months before Lis-Mari Hjortfors left Árran were very demanding for her. At home in Gällivarre in Sweden, his father was seriously ill. At work, she had engaged her trade union, Forskerforbundet. The association found out that after reorganization her position had been taken over to the “new” Árran. Lis-Mari therefore had a legal right to continue in her job. But the management failed to react. – The director at the time, Lars Magne Andreassen, did not answer any of the questions asked by the trade union. There was complete silence from the manager. I experienced that as the worst, I felt worthless, says Lis-Mari Hjortfors quietly. She looks at the coffee cup, she fights back tears. – In the end, I couldn’t take it anymore, I wrote my resignation on 20 November 2021. And then Lars Magne replied right away. – It again gives me the feeling that the silence from the management was just a tactic to pressure me to resign, says Lis-Mari Hjortfors. BECAME SICK: Lis-Mari Hjortfors. Photo: Ronald Pulk / news Just two months later she suffered a heart attack. She fainted at home and was sent to the emergency room. At the hospital, she underwent surgery and had a pacemaker inserted. – Maybe the total load was too much for me. The body couldn’t stand it, says Hjortfors. Today she has a 40 percent position at a museum in Gällivarre. – Going beyond the working environment news has asked Lars-Magne Andreassen to answer specific questions about what Gry Fors Spein and Lis-Mari Hjortfors describe. He generally responds about the matter in an email. – I myself took the consequences of the situation and that my own health worsened, and resigned from the position, he writes in conclusion. Chairman Magne Svineng joined Árran as the new chairman on 30 June this year. He clarifies to news that he is still fresh in office. CHAIRMAN: Magne Svineng. Photo: Elena Junie Paulsen / news – Lars Magne Andreassen describes a work environment with a heavy workload with few resources, is this a description you recognise? – Yes, the working environment is something we have to work on, it could be that the workload has been too great in relation to the resources, Svineng replies. The board of Árran and acting director Beate Ráhka-Knutsen have started working with the working environment at the institution.
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Former Árran employees feel cheated and discriminated against by the manager – news Sápmi
