Kim Alexander must choose between freezing at work or spilling on private clothes – Dagsavisen

Kim Alexander Olsen takes a careful step out onto the snow that has accumulated in a backyard in Arendal.

In the city streets, the huge masses of snow that fell over the southern village this winter are gone. But here in the shade, there is still about a meter of old snow left.

The healthcare worker’s leg goes straight through, and suddenly he is standing with snow up to his thigh.

The sneakers and the blue cotton pants get wet and cold. The thin shell jacket he wears over his T-shirt does not contribute to much warmth either.

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Skate shoes in the snow

It was even worse around New Year’s. Then up to one and a half meters of snow fell in Arendal and the Siberian cold produced around 30 degrees Celsius in Agder. But the home care service still had to get to the patients who needed their help.

– And then we stomped around in that uniform and that jacket, and private footwear. My apprentice wore such skate shoes with rag socks on them, says Olsen.

He is a local representative for the Trade Union in one of the departments of the home service in Arendal municipality.

As an expatriate Finnmarking, Olsen has been out on a winter night before. So he himself kept warm and dry with private overalls and winter boots.

But he would ideally like to see that the employer provided the clothes he needs to be able to do his job.

– It’s that uniform and jacket, and that’s it. The shoes, gloves, socks are private. I think underpants are fine, it can be private. But it seems to be anything but that, he calls for.

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Destroys private clothing

The home care staff work indoors with the patients. But they also have to get out of the car and over to the homes they are visiting.

It is usually not a problem in the summer. But during the rest of the year it can be both cold and wet to get from a far away car park to the front door.

When the road in between is covered with a meter and a half of unplowed snow, the thin clothes they are given are of little help. Then Olsen and his colleagues have to choose between freezing or wearing private clothes in addition to the uniform.

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Is it really that dangerous to put on a private bubble jacket between missions, you might think.

In the long run, it can be expensive, says Kim Alexander Olsen.

– I have destroyed a private down jacket in winter. When I took it off the hook, it got caught on something inside a patient’s house, and then it broke, he explains.

Other garments he has had to throw away because of blood spillage. If you put on private clothing over a uniform that has vomit, urine or faeces on it, it will spread to the outer clothing.

– We have a shared laundry for work clothes. But if I get body fluid on my private jacket or shoes, I cannot hand it down to the communal washroom. Then it will be chlorine or throw. Most often it is thrown away, says Olsen.

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In the name of equality

Christin Ø. Haslestad heads the occupational health and social section of the Agder Trade Union. She is thoroughly fed up with the fact that members of the female-dominated domestic service are not provided with all the clothes they need.

She believes it is a question of equality. Those who work in more male-dominated professions with, for example, technical operations, get what they need covered, she points out.

– The commitment was ignited in the name of equality. In my prejudiced head, I imagine that the guys in the technical department have it much easier. They can say that if we are going to go out and dig that ditch, we need an overall, she says.

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Special agreements

Work clothes for employees in the home service are regulated in a special agreement with the municipalities’ employers’ organization KS. It states that “the need is decided by the parties locally through a special agreement”. As a result, it varies from municipality to municipality which clothes the employees are covered.

In some places, they only get the uniform, which consists of trousers and a coat. Elsewhere, the employer also covers all outerwear and shoes.

Karl Mork is municipal manager for organization and development in Arendal municipality. He writes in an e-mail to LO-Aktuelt that the snowy weather in January showed that there was not enough clothing available for the employees in the home service.

“Together with the trade unions, we will review the agreement and ensure that we have good and warm clothing available for the employees. We will also consider what it is necessary to have in readiness of special equipment for an extreme situation such as we experienced this year”, he writes.

– According to Olsen and Haslestad, there are other professional groups in the municipality, for example those who work in technical operations, who get all the laundry they need covered. Does Arendal municipality believe that these have a greater need to have covered work clothes than the healthcare workers in home care?

“Different groups of employees will have different needs depending on the type of tasks they have. This applies to both work clothes and protective equipment. In accordance with the local agreement, we must cover the necessary work clothes for the employees in the home service. This means that we must start from the needs that the employees in the home service have, and the regulations that apply to the employees in this service. We hope that in good cooperation with the shop stewards we can find good solutions that the employees will be satisfied with,” replies municipal manager Karl Mork.

Christin Ø. Haslestad believes that it must become a matter of course that all employees in the municipalities receive the work clothes they need.

– It should be the same for everyone, so that we didn’t have all these local special agreements, she says.

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LO creates new policy

Haslestad therefore wants the necessary work clothes for all employees in the municipality to become part of LO’s policy. And now she has the chance to do that. For next year, LO’s action program for the next congress period must be adopted at the LO congress.

Recently, LO sent its draft of the new program out for “consultation” to the confederations and LO’s local organizations around the country. This means that members and shop stewards can now participate and influence how the new policy will look.

LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik hopes as many people as possible will sign up for the debate, which will take place over the next six months.

– My appeal to our members and union representatives is: Take part now in shaping the future. Participate in the democratic debate that this is, and let your voice be heard, she tells LO-Aktuelt.

It is up to each individual federation and local organization how the debates take place. By 1 August, clubs and associations must send their proposals to the confederations and LO’s regional sections. The confederations and regional offices in LO then have a deadline of 1 November to submit the proposals to LO.

– Take the debates at the workplace

– It may seem a long way from a local site union representative to LO central. How easy is it for an ordinary shop steward to gain traction in the action programme?

– I would say there are good opportunities for that. There are not a few times we have seen that input has come from a club, for example, which ends up in concrete resolutions at the congress, says Peggy Hessen Følsvik.

– Do you have any advice for someone who has a cause they are passionate about?

– It’s about getting involved now, being involved from the beginning, taking part in the debates at your workplace. And work systematically through the union’s meetings where policy is adopted. And then you also have the opportunity to participate through our regional conferences.

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Impact

Christin Ø. Haslestad in the Trade Union Agder will at least take the LO leader at his word. She will propose that work clothes be included in the part of the action program that deals with gender equality.

– It should be completely natural that those who work in the municipality should have the temperature-regulating clothing and footwear they need, she believes.

After the confederations and local organizations have sent their final proposals, these are sifted and sorted by the LO leadership. They submit their recommendation to LO’s secretariat. Finally, the secretariat presents a proposal for an action program for the LO congress in May next year. There the final policy is adopted.

– LO has enough impact that they can manage to set the agenda. When LO starts talking about something, it sets guidelines. Although it is not necessarily a formally signed legal agreement, says Haslestad.

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Now you can influence LO’s policy

Recently, LO sent out its proposal for a new action program for “consultation”. Now members and shop stewards can propose changes through their unions and local organisations.

• 1 August: Deadline for clubs and associations to submit their proposals to the confederations and LO’s regional sections.
• 1 November: Deadline for the confederations and regional offices in LO to submit the proposals to LO.
• 5-9 May 2025: LO’s congress where the action program will be adopted.

LO’s action programme:

• Is the document by which LO governs its policy.
• Adopted for four years at a time by LO’s highest body, the LO congress.
• The previous action program built on the program before there again.
• This time, LO has created a new draft from scratch.
• A committee led by LO’s first deputy chairman Sissel M. Skoghaug has written the draft.

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