LO and NHO fear that the new rules for public procurement will lead to more workplace related crime and weaken the ability for small and medium businesses to compete.
The two organizations want the government to evaluate the new rules within six months, writes newspaper Dagsavisen. As of 2017, the threshold for tenders has been raised from NOK 500,000 to NOK 1.1 million for public procurement.
– We believe this is a serious setback in efforts to combat workplace crime and social dumping. It is us as employees and employers who will have to deal with the problem, says LO Leader Gerd Kristiansen.
She believes the two organizations’ point of view, therefore must be of great importance to the authorities.
Along with NHO, LO has sent a letter to the Minister of Industry, Monica Mæland (H), where they have expressed their concerns.
– It is important for us to continue to point out the troubling aspects of the proposal, says NHO Director Kristin Skogen Lund.
As part of the fight against crime in the workplace, the set of stringent requirements for tenders is covered by the rules on public procurement.
According to Difi (Direktorat for forvaltning og IKT), changes will affect approximately 80 percent of all government procurement.
– It is equally important to check the small as well as large contracts. When there are fewer contracts to be authenticated, the law loses its strength, says Skogen Lund.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
