Joint responsibility for a good and decent working life

On 26 August 2011, the first government white paper on working conditions, working environment and safety in Norwegian working life was submitted to the Storting, the Norwegian parliament.

– With the white paper "Joint responsibility for a good and decent working life", we want to give a detailed description and invite the Parliament to a discussion about the basic conditions and challenges in the working life, says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

The white paper documents that the working conditions in Norway are generally good, but two main challenges stand out:

• Some industries are characterized by unacceptable working conditions.
• Some industries have high absenteeism and many who are receiving disability benefits.

– The Government's response to these challenges is systematic work together with the social partners to ensure that the intentions of the Working Environment Act and the agreement on inclusive working life (IA agreement) are fulfilled. A further development of trade-related cooperation, as in the the cleaning industry, is crucial, says Minister of Labour Hanne Bjurstrøm.

Read short version of the white paper