On Friday 26 August Hanne Bjurstrøm
highlighted the challenges surrounding involuntary part-time work when
presenting the government’s white paper 29 (2010-1011): Joint
responsibility for a good and decent working life.
It was an historic event. This was the first time a paper on
working conditions, work environment and safety in Norwegian working
life has been presented to parliament. The white paper represents an
invitation to discuss the basic conditions in and challenges to
Norway’s working life. One important aim with this has been to develop
the factual and analytical basis for the country’s work environment
policy.
One of the challenges identified in the white paper is that “some
trades, e.g. the cleaning and restaurant trades, suffer from many less
than serious companies and social dumping.” Another problem is that
“parts of working life is blighted with high levels of long-term sick
leave and alienation, for instance within the health and care sectors
and the transport sector.”
The paper warns against increased social dumping and a larger number
of less than serious players, which would weaken the Norwegian working
life model. Another challenge, the paper says, is that Norway’s labour
market is becoming more and more integrated into a much larger European
labour market, where there are large differences in salary levels and
working conditions between countries.
Tackling the challenge
Involuntary part-time work means a worker is not allowed to work
full-time if he or she wants to. In 2010 nearly 70,000 workers said
they wanted to work more than they were doing, and three in four of
them were women. But these are complex challenges.
“Many workers want to work part-time,” says Hanne Bjurstrøm, who
underlines the importance of being allowed to take your own family
situation and ability to work into consideration.
The Minister of Labour says she will tackle the problem by
evaluating part-time workers‘ right to be considered for full-time jobs
before external applicants, in order to make sure this rule is being
applied properly. The government will also examine the right to expand
your working hours if you over time have been working more than your
agreed hours.
Reducing involuntary part-time work calls for a range of measures
and efforts made both centrally and locally in the work places. This
year the government has initiated a three year, 75 million Norwegian
Kroner (€9.7m) programme to find practical solutions locally and to
spread them.
The Minister of Labour says she will invite the social partners to
present to them the government’s policy on full-time/part-time work and
to underline the partners’ responsibility to pave the way for full-time
employment.
Read more at the Ministry of Labour’s webpage (in Norwegian):
Felles ansvar for eit godt og anstendig arbeidsliv. Arbeidsforhold,
arbeidsmiljø og sikkerheit.
