– Frankly, I don’t understand why some health officials should earn more than the health minister. I think there should be some kind of ceiling that means you don’t get such big differences at the top in the hospitals. That’s what representative Seher Aydar in Rødt says. On Wednesday last week, the board decided to hire Lind as the new CEO of Helse Nord. Now the director’s salary is also known: NOK 2.3 million. This is shown in the employment agreement that news has been given access to. Seher Aydar is a parliamentary representative from Rødt and represents Oslo. Photo: Mathias Moene Rød / news Aydar believes that the top salaries send unfortunate signals down the system in the healthcare institutions. That is why she also asked questions to Health Minister Ingvil Kjerkol (Ap) at the Storting earlier in May – without being further impressed by the answer she received. – It is on the floor that it is most difficult to recruit. What we do know is that high executive salaries do not necessarily lead to better management or more efficiency. On the contrary, it creates poor motivation when the differences are so great, she says. The leader of the Norwegian Nurses’ Association in Nordland, Gjertrud Krokaa, also believes that the salary for the director of Helse Nord is at the highest level. – Yes, I think so. If the bosses are to have more than the health minister and prime minister, then you have to start holding back at the top as well. Gjertrud Krokaa is head of the Nurses’ Association in Nordland. She is critical that savings should be made on the floor in the healthcare institutions, while at the same time the pay party continues at the top. Photo: Øystein Nygård / news In 2021, Sykepleien wrote that then Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) had an annual salary of NOK 1.4 million. – People encourage people down the ranks to save money. Then I think that it must apply at all levels, continues Krokaa. If you compare it with the salary level of nurses, with at least ten years’ experience, these earn a minimum of NOK 565,000. Earns just over 200,000 more than its predecessor – It has been important for us to be competitive on wages, but not wage-leading, says chairman of Helse Nord, Renate Larsen. The salary of NOK 2.3 million is NOK 225,000 more than the previous director of Helse Nord, Cecilie Daae. When Daae’s salary was to be adjusted in October last year, Daae asked for a “zero settlement” – i.e. that the salary should stand still. – This year, Cecilie herself has requested that this year’s salary settlement be a zero settlement. She has also signaled that the same applies for next year, said chairman Larsen in October. Daae then earned NOK 2.075 million. Cecilie Daae was CEO of Helse Nord until November last year. She then resigned from her job due to health challenges, a job she had held for three years. Photo: Bente H. Johansen The chairman added in October that the financial situation in the healthcare company was one of the factors that the board must consider when determining the director’s salary. – Why does the new Helse Nord boss get over NOK 200,000 more in salary than Daae? – It’s about the salary Marit had where she came from, and the competitive situation compared to other RHFs, says Larsen. news has also sent questions to the Ministry of Health and Care. See the answers in the fact box: This is the response of the Ministry of Health to news’s question news sent several questions to Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap), but received a reply from State Secretary Truls Vasvik in the Ministry of Health and Care: – What does the Minister of Health think of Marit Lind’s salary? – It is the boards of the regional health enterprises that employ the general manager and determine the salary level. Questions about the CEO’s salary should therefore be addressed to the chairman. We expect the salary level to be in line with the government’s guidelines for executive pay in companies with direct state ownership, that is to say that the salary should be competitive and that consideration for moderation should be taken care of. – The salary is 225,000 more than Cecilie Daae had when she was director. Is it right to raise the salary now, considering the challenging situation Helse Nord finds itself in? – If managers receive a higher annual adjustment in fixed salary than the average for other employees, we want the company to justify this in its salary report. The salary reports are reviewed in enterprise meetings for the regional health enterprises in June. It is the chairman of the board who must answer for the assessments made regarding the salary level of the managing director. – The government has asked state-owned companies to show moderation when it comes to executive salaries. Does the health minister, Helse Nord, think moderation is being shown here? – We refer this question to the chairman of Helse Nord. – Red wants the managers of the health institutions not to earn more than the Minister of Health. Does the Minister of Health agree with that? – It is important that the board has sufficient leeway to recruit the top managers they believe are best suited to look after the company in the situation it is in. People who are relevant for the positions as top managers in the regional health enterprises will often be offered competitive salaries in other positions as well. In conclusion, I would like to add that this is probably one of the most important positions in Northern Norway right now. Earns second most of the health leaders With a salary of NOK 2.3 million, Lind will earn second most of the directors in the regional health undertakings. Only Terje Rootwelt, who is the managing director of Helse Sør-Öst, earns more with NOK 2.5 million in fixed salary. This serves the health leaders: Terje Rootwelt, Health South-East: NOK 2.5 million Stig Arild Slørdahl, Health Central: NOK 2.1 million Inger Cathrine Bryne, Health West: NOK 2.2 million Marit Lind., Health North: 2, NOK 3 million Source: Dagens Medisin, news, board document from the health organizations Unlike other managers in the state, the salary of the directors of the regional health organizations is not governed by the State’s executive salary system. This is because the directors are by definition not employed by the state, even though the state owns the health enterprises. It is the boards of the companies that set the salary of the top manager. Didn’t apply for the job – turned around The hiring of a new top manager at Helse Nord has been delayed, and the position has had to be advertised several times. Lind did not appear on the initial applicant lists for the job, but after being encouraged to apply for the job, she decided to turn around. – I have gone a few rounds with myself and I have been encouraged to apply, Lind said when she guested on news Nordland’s district broadcast last week. Chairman Larsen says that the board together with Lind arrived at the salary that has now been set. – We have agreed on the salary together with Marit, and it was not difficult. The chairman: – A good salary – This is a big role, we have got a director who has long and wide experience and who came from a good position in the first place. We believe the salary is good, but not salary-leading in relation to comparable positions. That’s what the chairman of Helse Nord, Renate Larsen, says. Renate Larsen is chairman of Helse Nord. It is the boards of the regional health undertakings that determine the salaries of the directors. Photo: Jørn Inge Johansen / news She has been subjected to criticism from Rødt and the Nurses’ Association, but replies that you have to recruit senior managers in a market with a lot of competition for the best people. – The government has also called for moderation in executive salaries. Do you think the salary is moderate? – It is a good salary and it is competitively positioned as we see it. – Gjertrud Krokaa in the Nurses’ Association says that it must be tightened throughout the enterprise. Why hasn’t the top been tightened? – It is a recruitment situation where we have to recruit a new manager in the healthcare company and it was important to be able to offer the right salary. We look at all parts of the business and are concerned with moderation at management level. But we believe that it is a competitively fair salary. Chairman Renate Larsen (right) in conversation with Marit Lind during a board meeting in Helse Nord in February. At that time, Lind was still acting in the position of managing director. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news – If a lower salary had been offered, would Marit Lind have been unsuitable for the job? – It will only be speculation. I do not feel that we have had a challenge in reaching an agreement on Marit Lind’s salary level. – Why does the head of Helse Nord have to earn almost one million more than the health minister? – I have great respect for the work that the Minister of Health does, but it is only Marit Lind’s salary that I have helped set in Helse Nord. – The predecessor Cecilie Daae also earned more than the Minister of Health… – Yes. We recruit in a market where those we recruit come from different positions and salary levels. It is a good salary that the RHF directors have, there is no doubt about it. But given the responsibility and scope of the job, it is not salary-leading.
ttn-69
Helse Nord director Marit Lind earns NOK 2.3 million – news Nordland
