Social dumping

The term social dumping refers to the practice of giving workers, and particularly migrant workers, significantly poorer wage and employment conditions than Norwegian workers.

Rules on health, safety and the working environment apply to everyone who works in Norway and the Working Environment Act also applies to foreign workers. In some industries, the wage and working conditions are regulated through the Tariff Board and are made applicable to everyone. This means that everyone working in the industry is entitled to these conditions.

The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority and the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority are key players in the efforts to combat social dumping. They ensure that health, safety, and environmental (HSE) requirements are followed, and that the conditions for work permits under the Immigration Act are met. They also check that employees receive wages and have working conditions according to the general application of collective agreements.

The Labour Inspection Authority has more in-depth information about the regulation of working conditions in Norway.

Work-related crime

Financial gain is a key motivation behind social dumping and work-related crime. There is a close link between social dumping, work-related crime and other forms of economic crime, such as money laundering, fraud, bankruptcy-related crime, tax evasion, fraudulent accounting and securities crime.

The term work-related crime refers to various forms of profit-motivated crime in working life. This type of crime occurs at the expense of employees’ conditions of employment and rights, but it also undermines the tax base and the welfare system. Unscrupulous and criminal actors who exploit tax rules and benefits schemes for their own enrichment contribute to the undermining of trust in Norwegian authorities and the welfare system.

There is no legal definition of work-related crime; it is a generic term for acts that violate Norwegian laws on pay and employment conditions, benefits and taxes, often in an organised form, that exploit workers or distort competition and undermine the social structure.

A coordinated effort from several  public authorities is required to prevent and combat workplace crime and social dumping. An inter-agency collaboration has been established, involving the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, the Norwegian Tax Administration and the police.

The government has presented an action plan to combat social dumping and work-related crime.

Tripartite industry cooperation in vulnerable sectors

Preventing social dumping and combatting work-related crime requires cooperation between the authorities, trade unions and employer organisations. This tripartite cooperation takes place in a number of arenas and utilises different policy instruments. Tripartite industry programmes have been introduced in collaboration between the authorities and the parties involved to ensure decent and proper working conditions in vulnerable sectors. These programmes exist in the cleaning services, the transport industry, the hospitality service industry and the automobile industry.  The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority facilitates the activity on behalf of the authorities.