Political considerations behind non-prosecution of fatal mining accident (Aftenposten)

The reason why the Trust Arktikugol mining company avoided prosecution following the 1991 mining accident on Svalbard in which five Russians died, was that the Norwegian authorities wanted to avoid trouble. It was the first time the Russians had themselves notified the Svalbard District Governor that an accident had occurred. Norway felt that if this first report resulted in prosecution and the imposition of a fine, it would discourage the Russians from reporting future incidents. The Norwegian authorities decided therefore not to push for a prosecution in this case.

Fight for control of hospital staff (Dagsavisen)

The Norwegian Association of Local Authorities (KS) wants to retain its status as employer of some 70,000 hospital workers when the Government takes over responsibility for the hospitals from the county authorities. The Norwegian Nurses’ Association rejects the proposal outright. "None of the healthcare workers’ unions is particularly happy with KS as an employer. On the contrary, most are looking forward to getting a new employer," says Bente Slaatten, leader of the Norwegian Nurses’ Association.

Union reps demand protection from harassment (Dagens Næringsliv)

Union representatives who "sing out" must be given a much greater level of protection from harassment and abuse by employers, says Gerd-Liv Valla, vice president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). The LO claim that an increasing number of union representatives are victims of harassment. "It may be necessary to demand a change in the Companies Act to secure freedom of expression for employee representatives. In far too many cases we see that union representatives are threatened with reprisals if they make public board decisions," says LO special adviser Knut Bodding.

Second price rise not notified in time – Telenor loses millions (Dagbladet)

For the second time in as many months Telenor has failed to notify its customers of a coming price rise in time. The Telecommunications Act says that Telenor must notify customers at least two months in advance of any price rise. The company promises customers the same in its own contracts. Telenor will not say how much it will lose in revenues because it was not allowed to raise prices from 1 January, nor how many calls are made on its network each month.

Cash comes rolling in to fish farmers (Aftenposten)

Fish farmers experienced a bonanza year in 2000. Yesterday the aquaculture company Pan Fish announced its best annual results ever. Even though salmon prices are no longer at their peak, revenues remain high. Norway’s industry of the future has only two companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, Pan Fish and Fjord Seafood. But on the other hand they are among the largest in the world.

Lost the food price war (Nationen)

The Government forced farmers’ income levels to the floor when last year’s agricultural subsidies were being hammered out. Agriculture Minister Bjarne Håkon Hansen promised that the price cuts would directly benefit the consumer. Recent figures show, however, that prices actually rose last year. "I find it extremely irritating that when the farmers have done their part, consumers have not received the benefit," says Mr Hansen.

Primary GP chaos (Vårt Land)

The new scheme in which each Norwegian is allocated a primary GP, rather than the current system where patients are free to choose any GP on an ad-hoc basis, is due to start in a week’s time. However, there is still widespread uncertainty about how it will work. Chief medical officers in local authorities throughout the country have been contacted by a stream of worried citizens. Many are concerned that they will lose their current family doctor under the new scheme. In rural areas people are often more concerned about whether there are actually any primary GPs to be had.

What an airport! (Verdens Gang)

Oslo’s Gardermoen airport runs like clockwork. Last year 87.9 per cent of planes took off and landed on time, a level of punctuality that no other European airport could beat. The figures come from the European Airlines Association.

Worth Noting

• Storebrand is the only Norwegian company that has been found worthy of managing part of the Government Petroleum Fund’s share portfolio. At the same time the company was among last year’s poorest performers in terms of giving customers a good return on their investments.
• The Government must allocate more money to preserving the country’s most important churches, according to a majority of MPs concerned with church affairs. Next week the Storting’s Church Affairs Committee will begin debating the Government’s report to the Storting on the Church of Norway’s financial situation. (Vårt Land)
• Dutch airline KLM will fight to retain its 30 per cent stake in Braathens and its alliance with the Norwegian company. (Aftenposten)
• Environment Minister Siri Bjerke still firmly believes that there should be eight to ten wolf packs in Norway and Sweden. (Nationen)
• Two Labour Party MPs chose to watch the combined relay event at the Nordic World Ski Championships instead of taking part in a vote in the Storting. The Conservatives therefore won the vote on an issue for which there was not really a parliamentary majority. (Dagens Næringsliv)

Today’s comment from Aftenposten

Sometimes politicians and civil servants introduce extremely stupid rules which run counter to ordinary people’s understanding of right or wrong, or simply what is fair and reasonable. Now two ministers – in this case Labour and Government Administration Minister Jørgen Kosmo and Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen – have come to their senses where others still have not understood what they have done. All we can say is: congratulations! Mr Kosmo will let local agricultural authorities decide whether haymaking should be defined as seasonal work or not, after his own department had initially ruled that it was not. Mr Schjøtt-Pedersen has also understood that ordinary people’s irritation over stupid rules can have political consequences. He has reversed a decision by the previous government which imposed VAT and expensive handling charges on small packages received from abroad. And while you’re about it, messers Kosmo and Schjøtt-Pedersen: cutting the red tape could go even further and even faster.