Each year, the public sector buys goods and services for over NOK 600 billion. The government will now create a Norwegian model with national requirements for all public procurement. The goal is healthier competitiveness and a more serious working life.
- The new Norwegian model must include requirements that will keep the public sector in contact with serious players as much as possible. This may include, for example, requirements for hiring skilled workers and apprentices. The new model may require measures for better controllability, sanctions or a ban on cash payments to make illegal payments more difficult, says Trade and Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre.
The government emphasizes that it cares about close cooperation with both parties to working life, the municipal sector and customers. The cooperation is to concern what requirements should be included in such a model.
- Public procurement will promote safe workplaces, and by putting higher demands on the business community, we help serious players develop. An effective fight against work-related crime must be balanced with the importance of small suppliers and start-ups across the country that are able to supply goods and services to the public sector. We will take this into account in our assessments, says Vestre.
The industries that come first
The preparation of the Norwegian public procurement model will be a gradual process and changes will follow in stages. The industries that can expect changes in the first place are construction and cleaning.
- The government wants a safe, serious and organized working life for everyone. By using purchasing power, the public sector can influence the market by setting requirements for, inter alia, working conditions when purchasing services. We are currently working on the preparation of new requirements for remuneration and working conditions in the Norwegian model, says the Minister of Labor and Social Integration Hadia Tajik.
– We are considering actions to strengthen regulations in public procurement regulations in construction industry, engineering and cleaning. Among other things, we are considering tightening customer control and order tracking requirements and introducing language skills requirements. Hadia Tajik says the government will work continuously to further develop the requirements in the Norwegian model. The government also wants broad cooperation with, among others, the parties professional life in this important work.
The new model is to give young people a chance for a professional life
In the work on the national model, the government will, inter alia, drew inspiration from existing procurement models such as the Oslo model and the Skien model. The model will also contribute to the fact that more young people will have the chance of working life.
- It is important for young people who are going to study to meet serious employers and learn a trade in good workplaces. It's also important for people to stay in industries where we desperately need manpower. We want jobs to be perceived as serious and safe - says the Minister of Education Tonje Brenna.
In the photo: Minister of Labor and Social Integration Hadia Tajik, Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre and Minister of Education Tonje Brenna
Source: regjeringen
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