Temporary labour contracts on Ap leader’s project

Temporary Labour ContractsConstruction Workers, Illustration. Photo: Pixabay

Workers with temporary labour contracts on Støre’s housing project

In a housing project that Labour leader Jonas Gahr Støre has invested in, a number of employment relationships have been uncovered without collective agreements and temporary labour contracts.

 

This is revealed by a survey Dagbladet has conducted.

In recent months, Støre has strongly emphasized the need to fight unfair workers in the workplace. Both in the speech to the Labour’s (Ap) country meeting and in the 1st of May speech shortly thereafter, the fight against social dumping was key, and Støre specifically pointed to the construction industry as a problem area.

Grenselunden

Several of the workers in the construction project Grenselunden, where Støres’ company Fernstø has a 3.26 percent stake, has just this type of employment agreement, which the Labour leader has referred to as “zero-hour contracts” or “temporary labor contracts”, according to the newspaper.

The survey shows that three out of eight companies on the construction site use staffing agencies. Six out of eight are not affiliated with any central collective agreement, and in some cases, corporate-income tax agreements are also lacking. In four of the eight companies are employees without union backing.

Støre changes his mind

Støre has previously defended ownership in the construction project, but now changes his mind.

– As a result of the conditions Dagbladet has pointed out, and that it is difficult for me to follow up on the projects closely and directly, I have initiated a process to sell Femstø’s holdings in construction projects, writes Minister in an email to the newspaper.

Støre emphasizes that he has been assured by project management that the work on the site is within the regulations. With such a small stake as just over three percent, he does not manage to have personal control over the project, he says.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today