SM Solberg and Nikki Olemann Squared off in Staatsrat Debate over Labour Reform
Staatsrat Takes Up Major Labour Reform to Start 2022 Session; Opposition forms Coalition
13 January 2022 - TRONDHEIM
The 2022 legislative session
is in full swing, and, amidst budget negotiations and provincial squabbles, the Solberg Administration pushed ahead with its social agenda as it entered its second full year in office. The Administration put forward two new major social policy programmes as part of the Amendment to the Workforce Act of 1940: a new 36 hour workweek and guaranteed employment programs.
Fremet’s current 42 hour workweek, introduced in 1940, has remained unchanged, even with increases in productivity and reductions in workweeks from Fremet’s continental neighbours. The legislation, a key part of the 2020 Socialist Party Platform, will be the first test of the party’s strength in the new political climate of the Fourth Republic.
The new act would require that all persons employed for more than 36 hours receive special dispensation, such as increased paid time off or overtime pay. The law also sets the “involuntary overtime” limit to 40 hours per week. Currently, there is no limit to involuntary overtime. The limit would prohibit contractually obligated hourly work exceeding 40 hours per week without the consent of the employee. Retaliation against refusal would become illegal.
Salaried employees will also be eligible to file a “Work Time” complaint with the Labour Relations Board in instances where salaried pay does not match hourly minimum wage per the hours worked by a salaried employee. Such individuals would be eligible for increased pay relative to their contractually calculated hourly rate or a special deviation granted with consent of employer and employee. Employees in the defence, agricultural, and transportation industries are exempt from the Work Time Complaint System and will instead be subject to existing protections enforced by the Essential Labour Commission.
Fremetian institutions remained largely silent over the measure, as businesses large and small have been expecting a change in policy since the election and have “already taken steps to remain in compliance,” according to the Director of the Fremetian Chamber of Commerce.
The second act proposed,
the Workforce Act of 2022, establishes a program within the Department of Administration that guarantees employment to citizens through a series of major infrastructure and social investments. The Commission for Employment and Workforce, a part of the Federal Department of Labour, will take over employment opportunity programs for Fremetian citizens and expand in scope to guarantee employment to adults between the ages of 18 and 65. The act calls for a public-private partnership to transition workers to private industry, but lacks any concrete means or plans for making this happen.
The program is structured to compliment the Federal unemployment insurance program. By adding entry level jobs and new training opportunities to the unemployed, especially in economically depressed areas, the Socialist Party hopes to further reduce unemployment and provide tangible social value to those that would otherwise be on unemployment assistance.
“Though the Fremetian national unemployment rate remains at a historical low of merely 4%, there is still work to be done in primarily rural areas, where youth unemployment can be as high as 12%. Pilot programs taken at the municipal level in Helmsdorf and the provincial level in Blumenfeld yielded positive results in reducing persistent unemployment in 18 to 65s and reducing youth unemployment. By providing on-the-job training, trade school certifications, and entry-level jobs paying fair wages, we can offer a clear course to Fremetians that would otherwise be lost in the depths.”
WA22 starts the Socialist Party off on an aggressive stance for 2022. Nikki Oleman, Høyre Party Head and Leader of the Opposition, called foul with WA22 during the Staatsrat debate today:
Unemployment in Fremet is at its lowest level since Reconstruction. A large programme such as this with vast administrative costs associated with it seems to me too much of a risk given the cost of said program. It is my belief— and the position of my party— that such vast sums of capital should be spent elsewhere to improve the quality of life for all Fremetians. We must bolster innovation while also providing a healthy social safety net for all Fremetians— from the able-bodied to the disabled. All Fremetians deserve to find real productivity and push our society forward into the next era. I fear that such broad-reaching programs will only lead to economic stagnation and loss of innovation as the comfort of a dead-end government job sets in.
And so, in a move that I never thought I would take, Høyre, the Venstre, and the Rødt have formed the Coalition for Universal Basic Income. We must forge ahead to find new, innovative solutions to unemployment. Total unemployment may forever be impossible, but it must still be our goal. It is the opinion of CUBI that UBI represents a new opportunity to supplement the existing social safety net. CUBI proposes a major study be conducted by DFS (Den Fremesker Sentralbank) to determine the long-term viability of such a programme, its effects on broader society, and the effects of such a program on inflationary pressures and the Fremetian consumer price index.
We cannot know what the future holds, but the Coalition believes that the path that the Socialist Party has set out with WA22 will only set our Republic up for a stagnated, unadaptable economy in an era where external pressures demand the opposite from nations, economies, societies, and the common citizenry.
Indeed, change is a constant in life, but we must be careful not to change for changing's sake. We have built a stable and dynamic economy with low income inequality and high standards of living— something we should all be proud of. We must heed the warnings of the policymakers that put us here. It was Silvio Høten, long-time leader of the Venstre, that said in 1973: "We must aggressively embrace new ideas and aggressively pursue innovations in all corners of our island and beyond. But, never forget the true meaning of innovation: real progress and real innovation only occurs when it has been demonstrated that these new ideas pose a benefit to society and are superior to the solutions we have today. We must have evidence to move forward, for the risks to our people and our nation are far too high to be tried upon a whim."
We must collect more data. We must consider the broader consequences of these programmes and implement them to the best of our ability, unadulterated. Evidence-based policy making has always been the Fremetian way and we must ensure that it always remains as such. Charging forward with untested, unproven social programmes is reckless and puts the existing social safety net at risk."
The Coalition for Universal Basic income is the culmination of months of negotiations between Fremet’s mainstream opposition parties and represents a turning point against the Solberg Administration, which has thus far dominated Fremetian politics since their 2020 landslide victory. With the interim presidential election cycle set to begin this summer, the Socialist Party will be placed on the defensive for the first time during its term— and at a highly inopportune time.
President Goldberg has yet to make a statement on the proposed amendments to the Workforce Act of 1940 or the new Workforce Act of 2022.