Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Norway (Ratification: 1950)

Replies received to the issues raised in a direct request which do not give rise to further comments (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, which answers the points raised in its previous direct request and has no further matters to raise in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 13 of the Convention. Substantive rules on wage protection. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that it has no intention of regulating in detail all aspects of wage protection as these issues are subject to contractual freedom and are thus largely addressed in individual contracts of employment or in collective agreements. The Government refers to section 14-6(1) of the Working Environment Act, as last revised in 2009, which provides that a contract of employment must include, among others, the pay applicable or agreed on commencement of the employment, any supplements and other remuneration not included in the pay, for example, allowances for meals or accommodation, the method of payment and payment intervals.

The Committee wishes to recall, in this respect, that as explained in paragraph 510 of its 2003 General Survey on protection of wages, the provisions of the Convention are worded in varying forms: some require specific practices to be prohibited (for instance, payment of wages in the form of promissory notes, Article 3, or restrictions on the freedom of workers to dispose of their wages, Article 6), and thus appear to require legislative provisions to this effect, while others merely require certain practices to be followed (for instance, payment of wages directly to the worker concerned, Article 5), and thus seem to leave more scope for implementation by various means, including custom or practice. Yet other provisions permit certain matters to be regulated by collective agreement (for instance, partial payment in kind, Article 4, or authorized deductions from wages, Article 8), or leave it to the discretion of the competent authorities to decide on the need for and the form of any action on their part (for instance, issuing of payslips, Article 14). Moreover, with regard to payments in kind and deductions, the Convention makes exclusive reference to implementation through national laws or regulations, collective agreements and arbitration awards, it being understood that authorizing allowances in kind or regulating deductions from wages based on the provisions of an individual labour agreement or consent would be incompatible with the requirements of the Convention.

The Committee recalls that, particularly in the context of individual labour agreements, the worker may face undue pressure from the employer, which may result in protection below the standards required by the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to consider adopting measures to ensure that individual or collective agreements give effect in all circumstances to the following minimum standards set out in the Convention: Article 4 (partial payment of wages in kind); Article 5 (payment of wages directly to the worker concerned); Article 6 (explicit prohibition against any limitation of the freedom of workers to dispose of their wages); Article 9 (prohibition of any deduction from wages for obtaining or retaining employment); and Article 10 (conditions and limits for attachment and assignment of wages).

Article 8. Deductions from wages. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations that, under section 14-15(2) of the Working Environment Act, deductions from wages may be made only when it is so stipulated in a written agreement. The Committee recalls that this degree of latitude, i.e. the possibility of deductions being permitted with the written consent of the worker, is not consistent with the Convention, unless of course the national legislation fixes specifically the types of deductions that may be provided for in individual labour agreements. In this connection, the Committee notes also the comments made by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), appended to the Government’s report, according to which this provision of the Working Environment Act has caused confusion as to whether the law opens the possibility in general of entering into agreements on salary deductions. The LO indicates that both in the private and public sectors it is not unusual for employment contracts to contain clauses giving general permission to the employer to deduct from wages in case of errors made in the payment of wages. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the national legislation into conformity with this Article of the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report, in particular the adoption of the new Working Environment Act (Act No. 62 of 17 June 2005), as last amended by Act No. 10 of 23 February 2007, which replaces the Working Environment Act of 1977.

Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 13 of the Convention. Substantive rules on wages protection. The Committee notes that the new Working Environment Act of 2005 does not seem to regulate in any concrete or detailed manner a number of aspects of wages protection, such as for instance the form and method of payment, the place and time of payment, the partial payment in kind, the attachment or assignment of wages, workers’ freedom to dispose of their wages or the prohibition of wage deduction for the purpose of retaining or obtaining employment, and therefore fails to give effect to substantive rules and principles of the Convention. Moreover, the Committee notes that section 55(1) of the previous Working Environment Act of 1977, which gave effect to Article 3 (payment of wages in legal tender) and Article 13 (payment on working days at or near the workplace) of the Convention, has now been amended and therefore the new Working Environment Act implements even less of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide in its next report full particulars on the manner in which the following requirements of the Convention are given effect in both law and practice, or, alternatively, to explain the reasons for which in the Government’s opinion these principles and rules would not call for any legislative action in the current context: payment of wages in legal tender or by bank/postal cheque or money order (Article 3); partial payment of wages in the form of allowances in kind (Article 4); payment of wages directly to the worker concerned (Article 5); prohibition against limiting in any manner the freedom of workers to dispose of their wages (Article 6); prohibition of any deduction from wages for the purpose of obtaining or retaining employment (Article 9); conditions and limits for attachment and assignment of wages (Article 10); and place and time of payment of wages (Article 13). The Committee understands that some or all of these elements are regulated by enterprise- or branch-level collective agreements or through staff rules, in accordance with section 14-16(1) of the Working Environment Act. It would accordingly appreciate if the Government would supply copies of relevant collective agreements or staff rules implementing the above provisions of the Convention. In addition, the Committee asks the Government to specify how the application of Articles 3-15 of the Convention is ensured in occupations or sections of economic activity such as shipping, hunting and fishing which under section 1-2(2) of the Working Environment Act are currently excluded from its scope of application.

Article 8. Deductions from wages. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it drew the Government’s attention to the fact that the Convention requires permissible deductions from wages to be prescribed by national laws or regulations or fixed by collective agreement or arbitration award, but not by individual agreement. The Government has not provided any reply on this point while section 14-15(2)(c) of the new Working Environment Act, that essentially reproduces the provisions of section 55(3)(c) of the previous Working Environment Act, still authorizes deductions when stipulated in advance by written agreement. The Committee wishes to refer, in this respect, to paragraph 217 of its 2003 General Survey on protection of wages in which it considered that the Convention seeks to prevent “private” arrangements which might involve unlawful or abusive deductions to the detriment of the worker’s earnings, and took the view that provisions of national legislation which permit deductions by virtue of individual agreements or consent are not compatible with this Article of the Convention, unless of course the national legislation specifies in a detailed and exhaustive manner the types of deductions which may be permitted on the basis of individual consent. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take appropriate action in order to bring its legislation into line with this Article of the Convention.

Article 11. Privileged treatment of wage claims in bankruptcy proceedings. The Committee notes with interest the last amendments to the Creditors Security Act (No. 59 of 1984) and the Wage Guarantee Act (No. 61 of 1973), introduced by Act No. 24 of 2002 and No. 120 of 2005, which extended the scope of the privileged status and of the wage guarantee scheme to new categories of employees. Noting that the national legislation has progressively adopted much higher standards of protection than those set in Article 11 of the Convention, in terms of not only privileged protection but also protection through a wage guarantee institution, the Committee encourages the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of the Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173) which contains the most relevant standards in relation to the protection of workers’ claims in the event of the employer’s bankruptcy or insolvency. Convention No. 173 was designed as a dual thrust instrument proposing two distinct sets of standards, one dealing with protection by means of a privilege and another dealing with wage guarantee funds, which may be accepted together or separately. As explained in greater detail in paragraphs 331–353 of the abovementioned General Survey, Convention No. 173 offers solid and modern responses to current challenges of corporate insolvency, in that it strengthens the traditional privilege system while exploring new means of protection in the form of wage guarantee institutions and leaving a wide margin of discretion to ratifying countries for the implementation of the standards. The Committee accordingly invites the Government to examine the possibility of ratifying Convention No. 173 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

Part V of the report form. Considering that the Government has not provided for many years information on the practical application of the Convention, the Committee would thank the Government for providing up to date information in this regard including, for instance, statistics on the number of workers covered by relevant legislation, extracts from labour inspection reports showing the number and nature of wage-related infringements observed and sanctions imposed, copies of collective agreements containing clauses on pay conditions, official documents and information sheets addressing wage issues, etc.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

The Committee notes the detailed information supplied by the Government concerning the application of Articles 11 and 14 of the Convention.

Article 2(2) of the Convention. The Committee notes that under section 2(3) of Act No. 4 of 4 February 1977 relating to worker protection and working environment, as subsequently amended last by Act No. 38 of 26 May 2000, the King may decide whether the following activities shall be exempt, wholly or in part, from the scope of application of the Act: (i) any activities associated with exploration and exploitation of natural resources in the seabed or its substrata, Norwegian inland waters, Norwegian sea territory and that part of the continental shelf which is subject to Norwegian sovereignty; (ii) activities of a special nature of certain parts of the public administration; and (iii) civil aviation and other state aviation. The Committee requests the Government to specify whether any exemptions have been decided by the King in virtue of the above provision, and if so, to transmit a copy of the relevant text(s).

Article 8. The Committee notes that by virtue of section 55(3)(c) of the above-referenced Worker’s Protection Act, deductions from wages may be made when stipulated in advance by written agreement. The Committee is bound to observe, however, that under this Article of the Convention the types and extent of permissible deductions should be prescribed by national laws or regulations or fixed by collective agreements or arbitration awards and not by individual agreements. The Committee has consistently taken the view that provisions of national legislation authorizing deductions from wages by virtue of individual agreement or consent do not offer the level of protection required by the Convention. It therefore asks the Government to consider the adoption of suitable measures to specify the types and limits of deductions permitted with the worker’s written consent.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would appreciate receiving up-to-date information on the practical application of the Convention, including for instance extracts of official reports, inspection results showing the number of infringements observed and penalties imposed and any other particulars bearing on the practical fulfilment of the conditions prescribed by the Convention. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government could supply in its next report detailed information on the application in law and practice of Articles 1 (definition of "wages"), 4 (partial payment of wages in kind), 5 (wage payment directly to the worker concerned), 6 (free disposal of wages), 7 (works stores), 9 (deductions representing indirect payment for obtaining or retaining employment), 10 (attachment and assignment of wages) and 15(d) (maintenance of payroll records) of the Convention.