Several industry actors fear that the regional reform and the transition to nationwide divisions could destroy the professional environment in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
“We fear that the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s professional environment will collapse.
“We see a massive flight of competence. They no longer have enough resources to carry out socially critical tasks,” Siw Tyldum at the engineering organization NITO at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration told newspaper VG.
She pointed out several reasons for this development.
“The regional reform and the transition from geographical regions to nationwide divisions has led to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration losing a lot of valuable expertise.
“Around 1,400 employees and their tasks have been transferred to the new counties, while 1,600 employees have resigned due to uncertainty and unrest.
“In a short time, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has thus gone from 7,500 employees to around 4,500 employees,” Tyldum noted.
Nye Veier AS
She is fully supported by CEO Julie Brodtkorb of the Association of Mechanical Engineers, who organizes companies that expand Norway’s roads.
“We have fully supported the reorganizations within this sector, including the regional reform and the establishment of Nye Veier AS.
“But we also see that the consequence has been that the Norwegian Public Roads Administration is drained of resources and people.
“That means that key public emergency preparedness tasks are threatened, including emergency preparedness and road maintenance.
“We look at the issue the same as Tyldum; it is time to sound the alarm,” Brodtkorb warned.
National transport plan
Minister of Transport Knut Arild Hareide (KrF) also commented on the issue.
“I think we should be honest and say that the regional reform and loss of 1,300-1,400 man-years has become a challenge for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
“We do not want a weak Roads Administration, on the contrary.
“I believe that when we present the National Transport Plan in March, people will see that we are investing in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and that it will be a very attractive high-tech workplace for many years to come,” he said.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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