Factsheet for measure
NO-2023-3/3820
– measures in Norway
Consultation on labour migration and social integration
Høring NOU 2022: 18 Mellom mobilitet og migrasjo
Background information
In 2022, a government-appointed committee, the Labour Immigrants Committee (Arbeidsinnvandringsutvalget), published an Official Norwegian Report, NOU 2022:18 Between Mobility and Migration, which provided a broad overview of the integration of labour migrants and their families from EU/EEA and third countries. The social partners were represented on the committee.
The committee’s report was open for consultation in 2023, and many of the social partners submitted their views on the committee’s proposals. The report and the social partners’ responses from the consultation provide insight into the discussion on the integration of migrant workers.
Content of measure
In its Official Norwegian Report (NOU 2022:18), the Labour Immigrants Committee recommended several measures aimed at improving the integration of migrant workers. Some proposals were unanimous, but in other cases, the committee was divided into a majority and a minority.
The committee discussed whether migrant workers should have a right to participate in modular-based courses in the Norwegian language and social studies, provided they pay a fee. Modular-structured education for adults is flexible and tailored training organised into smaller units. Participants are assessed and placed at the appropriate level, receiving a certificate for each completed module. The intention is that training should be adapted to individual needs, so no one has to undertake more training than necessary to achieve the desired level of competence. A majority of the committee recommended that labour migrants from both the EEA and third countries should be granted a legal right to fee-based modular Norwegian language training. The minority did not support establishing a legal right but recommended expanding and further developing existing arrangements for Norwegian language training. The committee was evenly split on whether migrant workers should have a legal right to modular courses in social studies.
Furthermore, the committee discussed whether there should be a language requirement for employees in industries exposed to higher risks in terms of health, safety, and environment (HSE), such as construction. The committee argued that poor Norwegian language skills could create several workplace challenges and increase the risk of work-related accidents due to inadequate understanding of HSE regulations. The committee reasoned that, in certain industries, a common language at a basic vocational level would be necessary to ensure health, environment, and safety standards. A majority of the committee proposed that the government should consider introducing a requirement that employees in HSE-exposed industries master a common language at a basic level (usually English or Norwegian). Such a requirement, the majority suggested, could include an obligation for employers to provide the necessary training, including during working hours.
Another question addressed by the committee was how to ensure that migrant workers could get their qualifications recognised. In 2019, the Office of the Auditor General in Norway (Riksrevisjonen) highlighted several challenges regarding schemes for recognising foreign education and professional qualifications in Norway. The main findings were insufficient information provided to migrant workers by the responsible authorities, inefficient processing procedures, inadequate provision for supplementary education for those with foreign qualifications, and poor coordination within the recognition field. The Labour Immigrants Committee recognised that many labour migrants in Norway work as unskilled workers, potentially because they lack a trade certificate or the necessary additional courses to meet the criteria for a Norwegian trade certificate, or because their education and qualifications from their home country have not been recognised. To make it easier for migrant workers to access information about recognition schemes for foreign education and relevant supplementary training, the committee recommended that the government initiate a comprehensive digital information initiative aimed at reaching newly arrived immigrants, providing the necessary and relevant information for participating in Norwegian working and social life.
Use of measure
In its Report to the Storting in March 2024 (Meld. St. 17 (2023–2024)), the government reported that the Labour Immigrants Committee’s proposal to establish a comprehensive digital channel to reach newly arrived immigrants with information on Norwegian work and social life had been implemented. On behalf of the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion, the Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi) was collaborating with the Directorate of Health, the Directorate of Labour and Welfare, and the Tax Administration, among others, to develop a dedicated website. A first version of the website, nyinorge.no, was launched on 1 June 2023; however, this was initially aimed at people arriving from Ukraine in need of temporary collective protection. The website will be further developed, the government assured, noting that much of the existing information on the website aligns well with the information migrant workers may require.
Target groups
Actors and funding
|
Actors
|
Funding
|
Trade unions
Employers' organisations
Other social actors (e.g. NGOs)
Local / regional government
|
No special funding required
|
Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
|
Trade unions
|
Employers' organisations
|
|
Role
|
Consulted
|
Consulted
|
|
Form
|
Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal
|
Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal
|
Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
-
Social partners jointly
-
Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level
Involvement
The social partners (LO and NHO) were represented on the Labour Immigrants Committee.
Views and reactions
Among the social partners responding to the government’s invitation to consultation were two employer organisations, NHO and Spekter, and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).
The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) found that the committee’s report provides an important assessment of labour immigration to Norway after 2004 and the integration of labour immigrants into Norwegian working and social life. It supported the committee’s overall assessment of maintaining the distinction between labour immigrants and other migrants (refugees/family reunification) regarding access to integration policy rights.
The employer organisation acknowledges the importance of enhancing access to Norwegian language training for labour immigrants but does not support granting labour immigrants a legal right to such training, as recommended by the committee’s majority. NHO argued that many companies today offer Norwegian courses to their foreign employees, and that the costs associated with acquiring a new language should, to some extent, be included as part of the decision to migrate.
While the majority of the committee believed consideration should be given to requiring employees in HSE-exposed industries to master a common language at a basic vocational level, NHO, in line with the committee’s minority, argued that the need for effective communication is already covered by current regulations, making further regulation unnecessary. Furthermore, NHO argued that more specific language requirements could conflict with Norway's legal obligations under the EEA Agreement.
NHO believes it should be easier for skilled workers and employees from the EEA and third countries to have their competencies documented and recognised, and supported the committee's recommendations to facilitate the completion of vocational and professional education among adult immigrants, as well as clarifying the purpose of schemes for recognising foreign competencies.
The Employers’ Association Spekter supported the minority's recommendation not to grant labour immigrants a statutory right to Norwegian language training. Instead, the association favoured expanding existing arrangements for Norwegian language training. Nor did Spekter support a statutory right to social studies training for labour immigrants, due to uncertainty regarding the cost-benefit assessment.
Regarding whether employees in HSE-exposed industries should be required to master a common language, Spekter argued that this responsibility is already addressed by current regulations. Spekter also emphasised the importance of rapid approval of foreign qualifications.
According to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the committee’s report provides a solid knowledge base for discussing the integration of labour immigrants in Norway. Consistent with the committee’s minority, LO believes that Norwegian language training should be strengthened through arrangements that are not rights-based. This would allow greater flexibility in terms of design, subsidy levels, and capacity, enabling public expenditures to be continuously balanced against other considerations, LO argued. Nor did LO support a statutory right to social studies training.
Alongside the committee, LO highlighted that poor Norwegian language skills, and thus the absence of a common language, constitute a significant safety risk in many industries. LO noted that many members of its largest private-sector union (Fellesforbundet) had experienced such challenges across various industries. Therefore, the confederation agreed with the committee’s majority, recommending that the government should consider requiring employees in HSE-exposed industries, such as construction, to master a common language at a basic vocational level when such skills are deemed necessary for health, environment, and safety reasons. Such a requirement, LO argued, could include an obligation for employers to provide the necessary training, including during working hours, with vocational language courses tailored specifically to the relevant industry.
Sources
