Energy Minister Terje Aasland issued strong criticism after reviewing contracts for workers at Norwegian energy installations. "You cannot mess with workers. This is not how we do things in Norwegian working life!" he stated.
The minister reacted to legal assessments describing the contracts as illegal, "frightening," and "gross." Workers were hired through subcontractors rather than directly by the state-owned energy company Equinor, but Equinor holds overall responsibility for all activities at its facilities.
Aasland expressed dissatisfaction that regulatory authorities hadn't identified the problematic contracts first. "This is something I will discuss with the labor minister. We must make the control functions work properly. People should feel safe at work," he said.
The minister met with Equinor CEO Anders Opedal shortly before the contract revelations became public. While the meeting was previously scheduled, Aasland confirmed the contracts became a discussion topic. Opedal provided Equinor's perspective on the situation.
Equinor confirmed the contracts were discussed but noted the meeting primarily concerned other matters. A company spokesperson stated Opedal "provided an update and emphasized Equinor's responsibility, and that we are committed to everyone working for the company having good and proper working conditions in line with current regulations."
When asked if Equinor should have detected the problematic contracts themselves given their oversight responsibility, Aasland responded, "When you have supervisory responsibility, it's important that you have control over what happens beneath you."
The minister was unequivocal about whether such practices should be tolerated at facilities where the state is majority owner. "We cannot live with this happening anywhere. This affects the workers. We're talking about people, regardless of whether the state or others are the owner."
Aasland suggested some companies profit from offering contracts that violate regulations because the risk of getting caught remains low. "Then we must increase the risk of getting caught. And we must consider increasing the consequences for being caught," he stated.
The Norwegian government tightened requirements for staffing agencies last year, but problematic contracts existed both before and after these changes. The persistence of such practices over multiple years raises questions about enforcement effectiveness in Norway's energy sector.
What is Equinor's supervisory responsibility?
Equinor holds what's called 'påseansvar' - meaning the company bears responsibility for ensuring everything operates correctly at their facilities, including work performed by subcontractors.
Which authorities oversee Norway's oil industry?
The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway controls that everything proceeds correctly in the oil industry, while the Labour Inspection Authority approves staffing companies.