Closed border affects day travelers from Sweden

6,000 Swedish-based Norwegian workers were refused to report to work overnight when Norway closed its borders on January 29.

There are still no clarifications on how this group of day travelers should guarantee their livelihood. That certainly doesn’t hold up, says Labor Party’s Elise Bjørnebekk-Waagen, who sits on the Labor and Social Affairs Committee at the Storting.

– It is under all criticism that the government had not planned better the closure of the border. This lack of preparation affects ordinary people who now have no income, he tells Børsen.

Closed border: – Damn

– The border was closed due to an infection with a mutated virus. Was it important to act quickly?

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– We have been in a pandemic for almost a year. It is shocking that this was not better prepared, counterattacks Bjørnebekk-Waagen.

Almost half

Børsen wrote on Wednesday about the Nexans cable factory in Halden, which is struggling to maintain production because 39 Swedish specialists cannot attend work while the border is closed.

– We stay afloat. But it’s critical, said Nexans Norway CEO Ragnhild Katteland.

Almost half (46%) of NHO member companies with more than 100 employees report that strict entry restrictions cause delays in production.

Fredrik Åhstrøm, a Nexans worker, is an example of the fact that employees are struggling too.

– I’m off the court. After working for 20 years on the Norwegian side of the border and paying taxes to Norway all these years, I am completely without rights, he tells Børsen.

– Unsustainable situation

Bjørnebekk-Waagen had Åhstrøm and 6,000 other Swedish citizens with permanent jobs in Norway in mind when the Labor Party presented the following proposal at the Storting on Thursday:

“The Storting calls on the government to ensure that border travelers who are now unable to travel to the country for work due to closed borders are covered by plans that guarantee financial compensation.”

So far, it appears that only the SV and the Center Party will join the team.

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– I am disappointed that there are no more parties that have supported the proposal. I really hope they change their mind. The case will be decided on February 18. These are people who are in an unsustainable situation, with no income, says the Labor representative.

Do not forward freely

Before the discussion in the committee, Bjørnebekk-Waagen asked the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Torbjørn Røe Isaksen (H) written questions about what the government will contribute and what preparations it has made before closing the border shortly. realize.

Only one in 31 was detained at the border

– The answer is far from adequate to impress. This testifies to very poor emergency preparedness work, he tells Børsen.

Secretary of State Vegard Einan (H) responds as follows when Børsen asks the same question:

– It is not the case that we have not thought about this. We have tried to look at different situations that it is possible to get into, but we do not have benefits in the system that catch employees who cannot attend work, regardless of the cause. And we also have no previous experience with closed borders.

– Is the criticism due to poor preparation?

– It is not difficult to understand the criticisms. The challenge is that we have not been able to find good solutions within EEA regulations that at the same time seal off potential abuses, something we have seen extensive examples of this spring, says Einan.

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Røe Isaksen also points to EEA rules in the reply to Bjørnebekk-Waagen. Einan explains:

– We can not only find solutions for the workers of the Göran factory in Strømstad who work every day in Norway, but also for the carpenter from Poland who works three weeks in Norway before returning home. We cannot do something that is freely open to everyone, says Einan.

– Pity

The answers don’t hold up, Bjørnebekk-Waagen believes.

– The government closed the border and then the government must take responsibility, he believes.

The Labor politician has been elected to the Storting of Østfold (now Viken), where, among other things, the aforementioned Nexans cable factory in Halden is located.

– My silent protest

– In practice, border travelers are prohibited in their own workplace. The government does not seem to have understood that for those of us who live in the border areas there is a common labor and housing market. I am ashamed of the way the government treats border travelers who now have no income, Bjørnebekk-Waagen tells Børsen.

She adds:

– There is a disclaimer when the government targets the parties.

Not noted

Vegard Einan says it is due to a misunderstanding when he claims that he has turned to the parties, that is, employers ‘and employees’ associations, to find a solution.

A very special border mission

– What happened was that the ministry was asked about the use of the dismissal regulations in this situation. Then I replied that it is up to the parties to interpret the regulations of the Main Agreement, but that a possible dismissal would give the right to unemployment benefits.

– So suggestions for a solution?

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– In meetings with LO and NHO, they have rejected that this can be considered a basis for dismissal and therefore they will not change the agreements around this. Something that the government, of course, takes note of and relates to.

– What then will be the solution?

– We must look at this from a broader perspective. The situation that arose on January 29 is not something we have experience with before. But we have a lot of experience that there are challenges associated with opening up new solutions, such as extensive pitfalls with schematics.