The mayor of Hyllestad says they depend on foreign workers to maintain their core business. King Harald understands the situation.
Norway would have stopped without them commented King Harald when he and the Queen visited the Havyard Shipyard in Hyllestad on Wednesday.
The comment came after Mayor Kjell Eide (Labor) stressed how dependent the municipality and the shipyard are on foreign labor.
The use of foreign labor was one of the few topics at the meeting, and Havyard shipyard director Karsten Sævik said they could not do without Polish workers during the pandemic.
- For sure. The project we were working on would come to a complete halt. But fortunately we were able to continue this. We're not on time, more than 100 days in calendar time, Sævik said.
COVID-19 outbreak
The Havyard Shipyard gained a lot of attention last fall when the coronavirus struck. In a short time, 96 shipyard workers were infected.
- King Harald wonders about the commune that had to close its largest workplace.
Eide and Sævik said they panic a little from time to time. But in retrospect, they also believe that the commune was lucky because the infection never found its way to kindergarten or school.
In hindsight, there has not been a single case of an infection in Hyllestad.
According to the mayor, language and communication were a challenge during the pandemic. She says it was difficult to get the information across and that not everyone understood that they were infected.
"They didn't understand the language, which was a big problem," he says.
King Harald on foreign workers. Thank you to the Polish employees
At the same time, both the mayor and the director are grateful for the efforts, most of which are the work of Polish immigrants.
- I have to thank the Poles for helping me get through this difficult time. - I have to thank the Poles for how much they helped us. For a long time, those affected have had longer rotation times. They couldn't normally go home and visit their families. They stayed here mainly from Christmas to Easter. A big thank you to the Poles we have had here all this time, said Sævik.
Ingenious collaboration
The conversation also concerned shipbuilding and the challenges of running a shipyard in Norway.
At the Hyllestad Shipyard, they are now undergoing a restructuring phase where they will stop building new boats and go to rebuild and repair.
Sæle is optimistic about the future, mainly due to the unique cooperation between players on the Norwegian market.
- This close cooperation and the close relationship between the shipowners 'association, seafarers of the shipowners' association and suppliers are brilliant in Norway, said the director of the yard.
For the royal is currently on a three-day trip to western Norway. On Tuesday they were in Flåm, on Wednesday in Hyllestad and on Thursday they visited Florø.
