– We are going to demand that the employer pays out full sick pay from day one. And that it is they who will be responsible for seeking reimbursement from Nav, says deputy chairman Steinar Krogstad in LO to NTB.
Negotiations on a new agreement for an inclusive working life – better known as the IA agreement – are beginning to drag on. The parties met again on Thursday and are now embarking on the final sprint in the work to hammer out an agreement that can contribute to reducing sickness absence in Norwegian working life.
But employees in the public sector and a good number of occupational groups with highly paid employees in the private sector have full pay in the event of illness laid down in their collective agreements. In other words, they will not be affected by any cut in sick pay.
Most of the other collective agreements in the LO system, on the other hand, do not have such a provision.
Low-paid workers are affected
But that could soon change if the performance in the daily sick pay scheme were to be reduced in an attempt to reduce a particularly high level of sickness absence in Norway, according to the LO deputy leader.
Reduced sick pay will hit those with the lowest wages and employees in traditional labor occupations the hardest and will lead to greater social differences, he states.
Chief economist Roger Bjørnstad in LO also points out to NTB that there are large, low-paid groups in Norwegian working life that do not have collective agreements. Cuts in sick pay will therefore further reinforce the social differences.
– We therefore want the collective agreements to become normative for the whole of working life, he says.
However, there is no major political movement behind a desire to cut sick pay, and Krogstad “has low shoulders” as the situation is now. Admittedly, the NHO distinguished itself at the entrance to the IA negotiations by stating that no measures could be taken off the negotiating table when the purpose is to reduce sickness absence. But in the Storting, the Liberal Party is apparently alone in demanding reduced sick pay.
Record high sickness absence
The backdrop is figures from Statistics Norway which show that sickness absence in Norwegian working life had risen to the highest level in 15 years in the second quarter. Sickness absence of 7.1 per cent amounted to 10.6 million lost working days. Around 1.7 million of these were due to self-reported sickness absence, while around 9 million were due to doctor-reported sickness absence.
The IA agreement was supposed to contribute to a reduction in sickness absence by 10 per cent from the level in 2018. It has not succeeded in this. Quite the contrary.
From 2018 to 2023, sickness absence has increased by 17.5 per cent.
The expenses for sickness benefits and employment verification benefits will increase next year by around NOK 14 billion, according to the government’s proposal for the state budget for next year, which was presented on Monday.
The left wants to cut
What the Liberal Party proposes in its alternative state budget is that you should have full sick pay for the first six months as an employee, but after this it should drop to 80 per cent unless you switch to graded sick leave.
Although Labor Minister Tonje Brenna has been clear to NTB that the parties to the IA agreement must be willing to discuss other mechanisms to reduce sickness absence than those that are brought to the table themselves, Ap’s party program is equally clear that the sick pay scheme should not be cut.
Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg, for her part, does not believe that the entire increase in sickness absence is due to illness and is calling for a change in attitude. But neither has the Conservative Party advocated reduced sick pay.
– NHO is fully aware of what will come if it is cut, and the Conservative Party is fully aware of that. They do not want a collective agreement where this becomes a main issue, says Krogstad.
NHO wants to talk about everything
NHO maintains to NTB its position that it should be possible to discuss everything in order to reverse the trend in sickness absence – including all aspects of the sick pay scheme. One of the topics that the organization has raised in advance of the IA negotiations is the possibility of introducing seniority deductions.
In Sweden, there has been waiting period in the sick pay system since 1993. Employees must themselves cover the loss of income on the first day of sickness, then (from day 2 – 14) sickness benefit is paid from the employer corresponding to 80 per cent of the salary – regardless of how much you earn.
NHO leader Ole Erik Almlid answered no then NRK this summer asked if we should also introduce senior citizen deductions in Norway.
– The record high Norwegian sickness absence is a serious social problem that we solve together with dialogue and new ideas, old taboos should be put aside, says working life director Nina Melsom in NHO now.
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