Reconciliation of work and family life

1. Reconciliation of work and family life The government schemes designed to make it possible to combine work and care by Ms Arni Hole Director General, Department of Family Policies and Equality Issues

2. ILO/MLSP Technical Seminar: Implementing the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No.156) in Bulgaria via social partnership. Speech: The Norwegian Experience: Legislation, policies and practises to adress the situation of workers with family responsibilities Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for inviting me to this important event ! I am honoured of the fact that Norwegian experiences can be of relevance to others ! Firstly, let me adress the ILO Convention No.156, which Norway enforced in 1983: The text has been an extremely valuable source for developping our national policies and new legislation. We did already have the Gender Equality Law in place (1979) prohibiting gender based discrimination in all sector of society and a National Machinery to monitor, we did ratify the CEDAW in 1981 ( see para.14 of the Preamble) as well as having a rather strong Work Enviroment Law adopted. However, this convention has inspired the later development in what we call: Policies for reconciling work and family life in Norway.

3. Secondly, let me associate Norway strongly with the four strategic objectives of ILO’s diverse tasks: • Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work • Create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment and income • Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all • Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue. Thirdly, the notion of tripartism is at the very basis of the Norwegian welfare System. Our tripartite cooperation started as far back as in 1935, when the first socalled “Basic Agreement” was formed between the Government (State Party) and the Social Partners. Certain “traffic rules” of how to negotiate on wages and tariffs, what main themes should be included, how to conduct strikes and loct-outs etc. was set down. This Basic Agreement is seen as a competitive edge by all parties, and is negotiated every 4th year.

4. Some experinces I want to share: Re-building the post-war Norwegian society, meant setting the Basic Agreement into practical life: • All major social reforms, esp. The National Insurance Act from 1966, the largest social reform in Norway ever, were carried through on the basis of consultations between Government and the social partners, encompassed in the Basic Agreement. • The National Insurance Act covers sick-leave, minimum age-pensions for all, parental leave scheme, right to leave of absence for parents with sick children, support to single providers and disability pensions. Today it is widened and reformed (I will show that in my powerpoint) but not without broad consultancy with the social partners before submitted to Parliament. • Today the Cabinet meets regularely with the social partners in the socalled “Contact Group”. Sometimes there is wide disagreement and media is involved after these meetings – and we experience a fierce, but open and necessary, democratic public discussion , sometimes there are conflicts. But the concensus upon having such social dialogue, including also other stakeholders as NGOs and civil society at large, maintains.

5. Another important and additional democratic device, conducive to societaldevelopment and welfare measures, is the duty to submit all legal proposals to a wide hearing and consultancy (min. a 3 month range, when a new legal Act is proposed from Cabinet) Thus we secure the opinions of all types of stakeholders and levels of society before Parliament votes upon the law. • The role of NGOs promoting human rights, anti-discrimination, gender equality, childrens rights, equality for disabled and homosexuals, can never beunderestimated. On many occations, Ministeries arranges meetings, workshops and seminars together with both the social partners and the NGO’s. • Within government, we have traditions for cross-sectorial cooperation, either through permanent panels/steering groups/working groups of civil servants or through ad hoc Deputy Ministers Groups, to head a planning process /legal process or to scrutinize provisions and policies. • Before any discussion of difficult, cross-cutting issues is lifted to Cabinet meeetings, there is a duty to consult relevant other Minsteries before closing the document. This secures a balanced cooperation and complementary action and behavior, within Government. It is necessary to counteract the sometimes all-to-overwhelming sectorial attitude.

6. Some Ministries, like my own, have spesific tasks designed from the Cabinet: To coordinate and promote Gender Equality – as to secure Gender Mainstreaming - in all line-ministeries, or the Child Perspective-mainstreaming. The Ministry of the Interior and Regional Tasks, has the duty to coordinate and promote all policies towards the 430 municipalities of Norway. And so forth. Back to the tripartism, some early excamples: • As early as in 1936 Norwegian women got the right to maternity leave by law, however not paid – 12 weeks. • In 1957 the leave was regulated as paid ( if you were employed). Agreed upon through the tripartite consultations before made legal .Thus the employers were prepared and the employees knew what rights to fight for !( In 1958 this paid leave was extended to 18 weeks.) • Later, in 1966 , with the National Insurance Act, the parental leave scheme and other provisons for families and supporters were developped and has been evolving ever since – in compliance with the Work Environment Act and the Gender Equality Act, the School Act, the Parent and Child Act, the Family Allowance Act, the Cash Benefit Scheme Act, the Health Act, the Social Service Act, the Child Welfare Act, the Family Councelling Office Act and so forth.

7. Close link between family policy and gender equality policy • The purpose is to facilitate the reconciliation of family and work-life, to assure both parents and the single provider the possibility to combine family life and work • A web of arrangements, schemes and legal measures for families with small children designed to reconcile family and work

8. Positive correlation between female employment and fertility • Norwegian women has one of the highest birthrates in Europe (1.9) • The labour force participation for women, is at the same time on the top in Europe (69 per cent)

9. Important factors for working parents • Kindergardens • Parental leave scheme • The right to care benefits when child is ill • Flexibility in working life

10. The parental leave scheme The legislation related to parental leave is divided in two parts: • Working Environment Act: The right to leave of absence • National Insurance Act: The right to Child benefits

11. Working Environment Act • The parents together have right to one-year leave of absence when they get a child. • In addition, each parent is entitled to another year of leave. • This means that the parents are entitled to leave of absence until the child is 3 years old. If they want to use this right, the father must take his share.

12. National Insurance Act • The Parental benefit period is to day 44 weeks with 100 per cent pay, or 54 weeks with 80 per cent pay. • 3 weeks before and 6 weeks after the birth of the child are reserved for the mother. 6 weeks are reserved for the father, the so- called fathers quota.

13. Father’s quotas - a sucsess story • Norway was the first country to introduce a father quota in 1993. Today six weeks of the benefit period are not transferable to the mother. • 90 per cent of the fathers who have the right to this quota, make use of it.

14. Challenges for gender equality • In the labour market women still earn less than men; 15 percent on an average per hour. • 4 out of 10 women work part-time • 16 per cent of the female part-time workers wants to work full time • Pregnant women are exposed to discrimination 

15. Our work on reconciliation of work and family life • The Government will propose to expand the father’s quota with 4 new weeks • An Equal Pay Commission to investigate reasons, and elaborate on what can be done to narrow the wage gap, by March 2008

16. Relevant links • The Norwegian Social Insurance Scheme http://www.odin.dep.no/aid.english • The rights of parents with small children http://www.odin.dep.no/bld.english

17. Closing remarks: The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) is member of European Trade Unions Confederation (ETUC) and also ITUC (International Confederation of Trade Unions); as is the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises (NHO) member of UNICE. Both work through the European Social Dialogue – the european instrument where the social partners can decide to negotiate on voluntary basis, or they can be asked by the European Union (the Commission) to negotiate on certain issues; if agreement is reached on an initiative from EU, it becomes EU-law (also for Norway). Within Government, the over-all responsibility to monitor and report on the ILO-conventions, lays in the Ministry of Labour and Inclusion. However, in close cooperation with the other line ministeries – like my own. Thank you for your attention; I am prepared to answer questions.