The case in summary: – Pål Tesaker Fosso, program manager at the cultural center in Lyngdal municipality, must remove the rainbow flag from his office. – Lyngdal is the first municipality in Norway to adopt rules for what employees can have in their offices. – Mayor Unni Nilsen Husøy (Frp ) believe that political messages should not hang in public offices.- The Conservatives and the Liberals voted against the proposal, and some believe that this is an unnecessary guideline for the municipality to have.- The municipal sector organization (KS) has no guidelines for offices, and Lyngdal is thus the first municipality in the country with such rules. – Husøy believes that more municipalities will follow Lyngdal. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I put up the flag in connection with Queive Sørlandsdager. It’s been a while. For my part, it can only be there, says Pål Tesaker Fosso. He works as a program manager at the cultural center in Lyngdal municipality. He has held the office for almost 15 years. There he has many photos of the family, post-it notes, and on the desk is a rainbow flag. – I have that because I think it is important to support all members of society, says Fosso. Now the flag must be removed. The politicians in Lyngdal are the first in the country to decide that municipal offices should not be decorated as private spheres. Has become a discussion It was mayor Unni Nilsen Husøy (Frp) who presented the proposal to the politicians in the chairmanship in Lyngdal recently. She says that these are guidelines the municipality has had before. But that they have not been followed. – It has become a discussion among residents and employees. That is why it has been lifted politically, says Husøy. This is the decision Employees’ offices and open landscapes are public places and should therefore not be decorated as private spheres or decorated in a way that could damage Lyngdal municipality’s reputation. The immediate manager has a special responsibility for following up matters that contravene these guidelines. Violations of ethical guidelines may lead to disciplinary action. Was adopted by the chairmanship in Lyngdal municipality on 5 September with 5 votes in favor (Frp, Ap, KrF and Sp) and 2 votes against (H and V). She believes that political messages should not hang in public offices. – If you work in a public agency, and are employed by a municipality, then you must be neutral in relation to values. You cannot front your religious and political positions, says Husøy. – The decision states that the offices cannot be furnished as “private spheres”. Does this mean that employees cannot have family photos on their desks? – Common sense must be used here. It is of course ok to have a photo of the children on the desk, but you don’t need to wallpaper the entire wall with family photos. What do you think it is like to hold a public office? Have your say further down in the matter. Mayor of Lyngdal Unni Nilsen Husøy believes that it should be enough for the employees to decorate their homes. Photo: Siv Kristin Sællmann / news Asked about the elephant in the room The Conservatives and Liberals voted against the proposal when it was considered by the politicians. Bernt Mushom (H) believes this is an unnecessary guideline for the municipality to have. During the meeting, he wanted to get an answer to what was the background to the case. According to Lister24, a rainbow flag was hanging in a window at the municipal hall when the discussion about the decor started in November last year. – I didn’t get an answer to that. If that is the case, I think it is unfortunate that we have a case about it, says Mushom. The mayor does not think the discussion will come about because of the rainbow flag in the window. – I see no elephant in the room. This is not a case about the pride flag, but it is probably also about that, she says. Bernt Mushom (H) believes the decision on what employees can have in their offices is unnecessary. Photo: Svein Sundsdal / news I think more people will follow the Conservative Party’s representative in the chairmanship says they will deal with the decision that has now been made. – But I think this could have been solved without separate guidelines, says Mushom. The municipal sector’s organization (KS) has no guidelines for offices. Lyngdal will be the first municipality in the country to have rules for what employees can have in their offices. – We may well be the first. But I don’t think we will be the last, says Husøy. What private possessions do you think are okay to have in a public office? Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue Employees at the town hall in Lyngdal are no longer allowed to decorate their offices with political messages. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Published 12.09.2024, at 08.02
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Pål must remove the rainbow flag from his office – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
