– Today, store employees have reason to be angry

On Thursday, Kapital published its annual list of the 400 richest people in Norway. It was revealed that point guard John Fredriksen is on top with NOK 104 billion, while King Rema Odd Reitan is in second place with NOK 44.5 billion.

As many as 362 billionaires are on this year’s top list, with 21 new billionaires from last year’s list.

Third with $ 44 billion is Johan Johansson (53), who along with his father and uncle own 74 percent of the nation’s largest grocery group, NorgesGruppen.

From the grocery industry, we also found Stein Erik Hagen in the top ten list. Over the past year, the president and largest owner of Orkla became NOK 5 billion richer.

Reason to be angry

Kapital’s list hooks. More people are reacting to how Norway is becoming more and more billionaire, and also how supermarkets are making a fortune, while store clerks are among the lowest paid.

One of those that can be provoked is Rødt’s vice president, Marie Sneve Martinussen.

– The list shows that the crown crisis has escalated Difference-Norway, and that not everyone is in the same boat. Although many hundreds of thousands of Norwegians are unemployed, the wealth of the economic elite has barely diminished, says Martinussen.

I was worried about how it would end, this is what the billionaire says now

Capital calculations show that the 400 richest people in Norway control values ​​of NOK 1401 billion, compared to NOK 1408 billion last year. This is the first time since the financial crisis that the number has decreased.

At the same time, the top three richest grocery stores have increased their fortunes by several billion compared to last year’s list.

– In particular, grocery industry employees have reason to be angry when they see these numbers today. In recent months they have worked long hours and been exposed to infections, receiving nothing but applause and patting on the shoulders. Then we see that it is the supermarket moguls who have made the best purchases, says Martinussen.

Read the responses from Rema and Reitan’s group further down in the article.

– The balance of power is huge

Red’s deputy leader points to low competition in the Norwegian grocery market as another reason why food companies are raising money.

– What we consider different stores is actually owned by the same people. Reitangruppen owns Narvesen, 7-Eleven, and Rema 1000, while NorgesGruppen owns Kiwi, Meny, Joker, and Spar. Here, there are some at the top who have to pick up a lot of chain stores in their own pockets, says Martinussen.

He also believes that it is a problem that store employees are no longer organized in a trade union movement.

– The food industry is not the best organized sector and where it is easier to demand higher wages. The store can quickly replace someone at the checkout if it requires too much. The balance of power between those who sit on top and those who sit on the box is huge. In this way, they have built their fortune step by step, says Martinussen.

– Have earned a higher salary

The Trade and Offices Union organizes employees in the grocery trade.

Richer than the next two on the list combined

– It is worrying that the differences are increasing in Norway, and that the richest are getting more and more, says union leader Christopher Beckham about Kapital’s list.

He says it is positive that the business community and business owners earn money so that permanent jobs are secured, stressing that this should never be at the expense of employees’ wages and working hours.

– That is why we care about guaranteeing salary evolution and the best possible collective agreements. In retail, one scheme after another does not benefit employees, and we are working to eliminate them. Then it will be easier to ensure that store workers receive better wages and profits from the top will be lower, says Beckham.

He thinks it would have been appropriate to have an appreciation for the store employees.

– Food moguls are getting richer. In light of the pandemic situation we are in now, I believe that many store employees had earned slightly higher wages. It had gone beyond the company’s earnings, but had shown that the employer cares in a slightly different way, says Beckham.

– The richest license

Party leader Audun Lysbakken in SV believes that Kapital’s list shows the class division in Norway in its most naked and revealing form.

– The grocery industry is its symbol, where the owners make a fortune while those who do the work and create the value are among the lowest paid in society, says Lysbakken.

He believes that there is a “desperate injustice” in fiscal policy in Norway.

– Everyone on this list has faced increasingly generous tax policy, including wealth tax cuts, while ordinary people don’t get the same attention. This list should be a strong reminder to everyone of the need to manipulate the tax system, believes Lysbakken.

– Do you think the store employees deserve more?

– Yes of course. It is said that the differences in Norway are so small, but the truth is that the differences in Norway are too great. There is no reason to celebrate that we have more and more billionaires and that they are getting richer and richer. It just shows that the richest people in Norway are deducting and that more money will be in fewer hands, Lysbakken says.

– sensational

Labor Party deputy leader and tax policy spokesperson Hadia Tajik thinks it’s interesting that it is in commerce and food that the homeowners’ fortunes have gained the most momentum.

– We may not have seen the full effect yet either, as the borders are closed. I think it would have been a nice gesture to share a piece of the pie by lowering food prices and raising the salaries of store employees. I guess the budget allows it, says Tajik.

She notes that many have been impressed with the way the store employees have stood up and provided full shelves during the crown crisis.

– So I think it is fair and reasonable to ask whether food moguls should share the fortune, which is increasing.

She responds that the number of billionaires has increased.

– I am not worried about Kapital’s list

NorgesGruppen writes in an email to TV 2 that it does not comment on issues related to its shareholders.

Trond Bentestuen, CEO of Rema 1000 Norge AS, says they experience stiff competition in Norwegian groceries on a daily basis.

– But it is no secret to anyone that we have been working for years to strengthen competitive conditions in the market. We believe there is room for lower prices for consumers and greater diversity with more players. This is reflected in the White Paper to be considered this fall, says Bentestuen, adding that it would not be appropriate to comment on the salary level of employees while the entire grocery industry is in the midst of collective bargaining.

Press officer Berit Hvalryg of the Reitan group writes the following in an email to TV 2:

– Reitan is proud of the 38,000 jobs and strong companies that have been created in seven countries and is not worried about Kapital’s list. In addition to the grocery business, Reitangruppen is active in real estate, fuel and capital, kiosks, and service trade in the Nordic and Baltic countries.