NHO boss hard out against Cabinet Minister Helleland
CEO of the Federation of Norwegian Businesses (NHO), Kristin Skogen Lund, reacts strongly to the Minister of Gender Equality, Linda Hofstad Helleland (Conservatives), statements regarding the employers’ role towards obtaining equality in working life.
– I react to that the Minister of Gender Equality sees everything in black and white. She is a novice and is throwing the baby out with the bath water, Lund says to Dagens Næringsliv.
Earlier this week, Helleland told the newspaper that employers are a main reasons why men do not choose to partake in the parental leave scheme. This makes the NHO boss see red.
– What she says is neither correct nor fair. This is first and foremost about how Norwegian couples choose to prioritize and share.
Lund refers to a report commissioned by the Ministry of Children and Equality, which was issued before Christmas. The onclusion of the report is that the employers in the survey are not opposed to parental leave.
– It is weird that the Cabinet Minister does not believe in the findings in the report from her own committee, says Lund. Helleland refers to other reports that conclude otherwise.
– We have several reports to document what I state. I am a little surprised that the NHO boss denies that there is an attitude problem with some employers, she says.
Skogen Lund retorts that there obviously some employers who feel that way, but that its by no means not the general sentiment.
The Norwegian Labour Party (Ap) this week secured a majority for the Government’s proposal that parental leave should be divided into three equal parts, and that the father’s share is to increase to a minimum of 15 weeks. The scheme will apply to children born after July 1 this year according to plan.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
