– I am very concerned about the development. Folketrygden is a crucial part of our common welfare. We have to slow down the increase in expenses, says Brenna E24.
According to figures from Statistics Norway, sickness absence was 7.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year, the highest level in 15 years.
Conservative leader Erna Solberg believes the time for worries is over.
– It does not make sense for the Støre government to be concerned while the numbers increase year by year, while at the same time pursuing a policy that does not get more people from benefits to work. Støre and Brenna have removed the requirement that the state hire people with disabilities and gaps in their CV, and they have stopped measures that would make it easier to combine social security with work, says Solberg to NTB.
Sick pay increases the most
The increase in expenses applies to three schemes that give the right to money in the event of sickness absence: Payment of sick pay, work clarification money and disability benefit.
The growth in expenditure on sickness benefits is the largest in kroner and øre. It is expected that this will increase by NOK 8.2 billion next year, to a total of NOK 64.2 billion.
The expenses for the other two schemes increase by NOK 5.9 and 6.6 billion, respectively. In total, expenses related to sickness absence increase by NOK 20.7 billion.
– It’s about attitudes
– We cannot afford for this development to continue. To develop the welfare state of the future, we need more people in work and fewer people on social security. I have recently submitted a notification to the Storting with many measures to achieve this, Brenna tells E24.
Solberg does not buy that the entire increase is due to illness, she calls for a change in attitude.
– Everyone who is ill should get help to get well, but we have to realize that some of these statistics are also about attitudes. Not everyone has the respect and sense of duty associated with going to work, which the generations before us have had. We have to restore that.
The state budget will be presented on Monday at 10 am.
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2024-10-07 01:40:13
