Mæland changes course on Color Line proposals

Color LineColor Line.Photo: wikimedia.org

Too far reaching according to the Minister

Minister for Industries, Monica Mæland, changed course after criticizing a proposal that would open the door for Color Line to employ foreign labour.

 

The proposal, which has been open for public hearings, would have paved the way for Color Line to register the Kiel ferries in the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS), enabling the hiring of foreign labour with foreign employment conditions.

– During the public hearings, there have been several inputs that indicate that the proposal goes beyond the committee’s recommendations. This was not my intention the Minister for Industries, Monica Mæland, wrote in an email to Sysla.

According to the online newspaper, this means that the regulatory change will not be implemented as sketched when it was sent out to public hearings just over three months ago.

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), has previously asked the Government to rescind the entire proposal and instead to engage in dialogue with Color Line on solutions on how to retain the ferries in the Norwegian Ship Register (NOR).

Color Line has threatened to flag their ships out of Norway completely if they do not get better terms.

It is still unclear when the new regulatory proposal comes into force. According to the Minister for Industry, it is unlikely that there will be a new round of hearings.

 

Source: NTB Scanpix / Norway Today