– Is this correct?
Tuva Opstad (19) had worked a couple of extra shifts at the building materials store in Råde in Østfold. Now the salary had entered the account, but something was not right.
The apprentice had expected to earn NOK 172 an hour, which is the normal wage for a skilled employee, but had only received an apprentice wage of NOK 52 an hour.
The 19-year-old called someone she hoped could help her: Regional union representative Ole-Jacob Larsen in Byggmakker Handel Øst. He systematically went through her payslips.
Not only that the employer had paid Opstad too little for extra work, the apprentice salary itself was also lower than it should have been.
Opstad is an apprentice at Byggmakker Råde and is in his third year on the sales, service and tourism line at Frederik II upper secondary school in Fredrikstad. It is a vocational track over four years that provides study skills.
The school informed incorrectly
– Put simply, apprentices should earn as much in four years as a newly qualified servant in two years, says Larsen.
The salary of the apprentices is a certain percentage of the salary of an apprentice. The percentage increases every year (see fact box). But companies without a collective agreement can pay apprentices lower than companies with a collective agreement.
That is the reason why Tuva Opstad was paid too little, Larsen believes. Frederik II upper secondary school sent a letter to Byggmakker with information about the wages of apprentices.
But the school did not take into account that the building materials chain had a collective agreement, and wrote that the apprentices should earn 30 percent of the salary of a skilled employee in the first year and 40 percent in the second year. The annual salary of a skilled employee is NOK 456,500.
– It is this letter that led to the wrong salary, sums up Larsen.
When the company has a collective agreement, apprentices are entitled to 35 per cent of the salary of a skilled employee in the first year and 45 per cent in the second year.
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Lucky to have a warrior
Apprentice Erik Pettersen (18) at Byggmakker Fredrikstad Saxegård is also in his third year at Frederik II high school. He experienced the same as Tuva Opstad.
After Ole-Jacob Larsen cleaned up the apprentice wages for Opstad, Pettersen was also paid correctly. In January, both received NOK 20,000 in arrears.
The shop steward has helped six apprentices in recent years to get back pay of between NOK 200,000 and NOK 300,000 in total. All six received too little pay as apprentices and when working extra.
Ole-Jacob Larsen is not looking to blame anyone, neither the employer nor the school.
– It is not due to ill will, but unfortunate circumstances and poor communication between company and school, he says.
The school pupils are grateful for the help from the shop steward in Trade and Office (HK).
Ole-Jacob Larsen (in the middle) has helped six apprentices, including Tuva Opstad (TV) and Erik Pettersen, to get back pay between NOK 200,000 and NOK 300,000 in total. (Brian Cliff Olguin)
– I don’t know if other apprentices have someone who fights for them as much.
– We are lucky to have Ole-Jacob, says Tuva Opstad.
The cleanup continues. Larsen must contact Østfold County Council, which is responsible for the secondary schools in the county, and ensure that the county council sends out the correct information to the schools.
Both apprentices are members of HK. None of them have used up the money they were paid in arrears, but Opstad has a plan. She drives a Mini Cooper.
– The car is cool to style, but I’ll probably have to spend this money on new shock absorbers, says Tuva.
Tuva Opstad (19) had worked a couple of extra shifts at the building materials store in Råde in Østfold. When the salary came into the account, but something was not right. (Brian Cliff Olguin)
Erik Pettersen has deposited the money into a savings account.
The boss: Now it’s cleaned up
– There was a misunderstanding.
This is how warehouse manager Anders Kristiansen at the Byggmakker branches in Råde and Saxegård summarizes the error. He believed that the company could choose which percentage the apprentices should receive, as long as the salary remained the same over the course of four years.
– I still think it is more correct that the apprentices are paid an even lower percentage rate at the start than what the collective agreement dictates and that the percentage rate is increased as they gain more competence, says Kristiansen.
But even if the warehouse manager thinks this, it will not be like that. The collective agreement establishes what the apprentices must have paid during the course of their education.
– Now there will be no more nonsense. Both the payroll office and the personnel department are informed about how the apprentices are to be paid, he says.
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What is an apprentice?
They train for a profession by working in a company.
They are entitled to training according to the curriculum in the subject.
They have an employment contract in a company approved by the county council.
They are employed on the same terms as others and are considered temporary employees.
They are entitled to overtime and supplements in the same way as the other employees.
They are covered by the Working Environment Act.
Source: FriFagbevegelse, Education
How much should apprentices earn?
Apprentice wages depend on whether there is a collective agreement at the company and which agreement applies.
This is the salary apprentices in shops, bookshops, the travel industry and in the office must have if the company is covered by one of these collective agreements between HK and Virke: the national agreement, the agreement for the travel industry, the book and paper agreement and the office agreement.
The apprentice salary is a certain percentage of the salary of an apprentice and is calculated based on the actual percentage of positions in the company.
1. Pupils who attend school for two years and who are apprentices for the last two years are paid as follows:
• 40 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the third year.
• 60 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the fourth year.
2. Pupils with a three-year apprenticeship are paid as follows:
• 40 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the first year.
• 50 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the second year.
• 60 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the third year.
3. Pupils with a four-year apprenticeship are paid as follows:
• 35 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the first year.
• 45 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the second year.
• 55 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the third year.
• 65 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the fourth year.
Other apprentice wages
Apprentices in trade and aviation must receive this salary if the company is covered by one of these collective agreements between HK and NHO: the trade agreement, the shop agreement and the aviation agreement.
The pupils go to school for two years and are apprentices for the last two years.
• 40 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the third year.
• 60 per cent of the salary of a skilled worker in the fourth year.
Without a collective agreement, and if there are no generalized agreements in the industry, it is up to the company to decide what the apprentices should be paid.
Sources: The various agreements between HK and Virke and HK and NHO.
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