SVALBARD, NORWAY.
Kim S Nelson.
The Minister of Fisheries and Seafood in Norway, Marianne Sivertsen Næss, has presented a new bill to ensure that all workers at sea will have good wage conditions.
Therefore, The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries has proposed an extension of the scope of the General Application of Wage Conditions Act to include domestic shipping.
Regarding the new legislation project, the Minister said: "We aim to have a fair and decent working life in Norway, and this should also apply to our maritime areas."
"Since the government took office, we have been working on implementing a law to prevent social dumping in Norwegian waters and ensure that Norwegian shipowners using Norwegian seafarers are not undercut domestically," she explained.
In late April, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre reshuffled his cabinet, with the former Chair of the Storting's energy and environment committee and appointed Marianne Sivertsen Næss as the new Minister for Fisheries and Oceans.
Surprisingly, Norway imposes few wage requirements aboard foreign ships in Norwegian waters and on the Norwegian continental shelf. Consequently, these employees are mainly subject to the regulations of the flag state. This translates to different wages even when doing the same job.
One of the first projects initiated by the government was to extend the scope of the General Application of Wage Conditions Act to domestic shipping, mainly coastal shipping, and cruises that primarily occurred between Norwegian ports.
Also, the bill includes an imposition on rights holders that operate in Norwegian waters and the Norwegian continental shelf to ensure that employees on ships providing maritime services have Norwegian wage conditions.
The work on a new bill to introduce a requirement for Norwegian wage and working conditions on ships in Norwegian waters and on the Norwegian continental shelf was one of the first projects initiated by the government.
The sectors that will suffer these changes are petroleum, offshore wind, seabed mineral extraction, aquaculture, and carbon capture and storage.
According to the Ministry, the proposal has been sent for consultation, with a 6-week deadline. Once is approved, the government aims to establish a common regulation for the rights holders.
The previous proposal was very similar requesting Norwegian wages for employees on ships in domestic shipping and offshore. However, the last bill moves away from a separate law on ship labor conditions.