Government proposes easing ban on private employment agencies

The Minister of Labour and Government Administration made public in April 1999 the Norwegian government's intention to lift the ban on private employment agencies, and to establish a public temporary work agency. The decision follows the recommendation of a public committee that discussed this issue, and both employers and trade unions are generally positive towards such a move.

At the national conference of the Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti, KrF) on 16 April 1999, the Minister of Labour and Government Administration, Laila Dåvøy, made public the government's intention to lift the current ban on private employment agencies, and to establish a public temporary employment agency. The announcement follows the report of a public committee, which recommended the easing of the regulations affecting private employment agencies and the "leasing" of labour (NO9809186F) in December 1998. The proposal was to be put before parliament in May 1999.

The government's proposal is very much based on the public committee's recommendations. The state's monopoly on employment agencies will be abolished, although it is emphasised that public job centres will still be given top priority by the public authorities. The government further proposes to establish a public temporary work agency to compete with the already existing private agencies, which will be organised as an independent, but public, joint stock company.

The general ban on the leasing or hiring-out of personnel will be lifted, although exclusions will be introduced for some groups within the health and social sector. As recommended by the public committee, parallel restrictions on the hiring-in of such labour will be introduced, by placing it under the jurisdiction of the provisions regulating temporary employment in the Working Environment Act.

Representatives of private temporary work agencies as well as Ted Hanisch, the director general of the Labour Market Administration, are satisfied with the government's proposal.

The social partners have considered the committee's report, and have in general been positive in their responses. The trade unions emphasise that a precondition for setting up private employment exchanges is that the public employment exchanges will be strengthened and allocated the necessary resources. The government has been criticised by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) for having neglected the public employment exchanges, and LO thus does not want to see the setting up of private employment agencies to compete with the national job centres. The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (Næringslivets Hovedorganisasjon, NHO) is reluctant to see, among other things, restrictive regulations with respect to the hiring-in of labour.