The Oslo model in the fight against unscrupulous operators is being tightened up, which will have an impact on everyone, right down to the hourly wage level. Read more...

The fight against unscrupulous operators in the construction industry

The fight against unscrupulous operators in the construction industry is important and very much ongoing. Unscrupulous companies with questionable wage and working conditions not only threaten healthy competition in the industry, but can also contribute to human rights violations, environmental crime, and corruption. We must all play our part in combating unscrupulous businesses, but what can you do?

Oslo Municipality now requires everyone who enters into a contract with the municipality to become actively involved in this fight. It requires everyone to increase their vigilance and intensify their efforts to identify and assess potential negative elements, stop, prevent, and reduce negative impacts, help repair damage, and conduct ongoing evaluations and communication regarding their activities.

The requirements will trickle down the contract chain

The requirements that Oslo Municipality now imposes on its suppliers will trickle down the contract chain and spread so that other builders will also impose similar requirements on their contractual partners. Therefore, in the long term, this will affect everyone in the industry, right down to the hourly wage level.

Builders, contractors, and suppliers must now look to Oslo and learn. Because soon, such requirements will also apply to the rest of Norway.

What requirements are we talking about?

As mentioned, requirements will be introduced regarding what must be included in timesheets. They must show which assignment the hours are linked to, the date, the start and end times of the work, the duration of any breaks, and the total number of hours worked per day and week. New templates for timesheets can actually be changed and incorporated immediately. Most people still have some way to go before they reach their goal.

Salary and working conditions

Salaries and working conditions shall not be inferior to the national collective agreement, even if no such agreement exists for the relevant field. In such cases, one must look elsewhere to find comparable fields and use the wage levels there as a benchmark. Accommodation must, of course, meet the requirements of the Working Environment Act, and separate changing rooms for women and men are required on construction and building sites.

Percentage of full-time employment

A general rule of 100 percent permanent positions is being introduced, compared to 80 percent in the previous model. This is in addition to the government's rules prohibiting the hiring of temporary workers in the Oslo area. There are always exceptions, including here.

Documentation requirements

Upon request, suppliers must be able to document that everything is in order with regard to employment contracts, pay slips, timesheets, CVs, and payments of wages/vacation pay, travel, board and lodging, etc. It is a requirement to be able to document payment of mandatory occupational pension and occupational injury insurance. Only electronic payment is accepted.

Number of supplier links

There should be transparency regarding who owns the companies and restrictions on the number of supplier links.

Requirements for seriousness

Contractors and suppliers are obliged to inform their employees about the integrity requirements and their rights under the Working Environment Act.

The rules in the Transparency Act shall apply to all

The rules in the Transparency Act are incorporated into the Oslo Model in practice. This means that anyone who is to deliver anything to the municipality must comply with the requirements of the Act. In other words, the Oslo Model goes further than the Act itself. This means that anyone who wants to enter into a contract with the municipality must have a system in place for fulfilling the obligations that the duty of care entails.

This is where things start to get complicated for small and medium-sized enterprises. Anyone who wants to be a supplier to the City of Oslo must now carry out risk assessments of their internal and external operations. They must map the entire supply chain, assess where there may be violations of fundamental human rights, labor rights, and international humanitarian law, as well as environmental destruction or corruption. They must then make plans to prevent violations, remedy violations, evaluate their own activities, and communicate with others about how this work is progressing.

In other words, Oslo Municipality has once again contributed to increased focus on the fight against unscrupulous operators in the construction industry and effectively required that anyone who wishes to enter into contact with the municipality must do their part.

It will be exciting to see how the municipality will implement the regulations going forward and what the knock-on effect will be in the rest of the country.

See more about the Oslo model in the fight against unscrupulous operators here.