Telenor downsizing: – A shock for many, says the shop steward

Knut Viggen

Amalie Vadla

– It is reprehensible that Telenor Norge has the gift of audacity. They allow themselves to dismiss 35 well-employed workers in Rørvik, when they hire three times as many for similar work tasks in unsafe temporary jobs in Eastern Norway, thunders Kenneth Pettersen.

He is the main shop steward in Telenor Norway.

The company will make changes in three divisions. As part of this, it has been decided that the customer center in Rørvik will be discontinued.

The shop stewards went out before Easter and criticized Telenor for its hiring policy.

Chief union representative, Kenneth Pettersen, believes that Telenor’s decision to cut staff in Rørvik is a poor response to this criticism.

– I also question how sustainable it is for the community that the profit in Telenor should be greater at the expense of jobs in District Norway, he says.

Cuts positions in Trøndelag

On Wednesday, the members gather in Rørvik for a meeting to digest the news.

– This came as a shock to many, says May-Iren Arnøy, shop steward and deputy leader of EL and the IT club in Telenor customer service.

The customer center is Telenor’s northernmost and has 35 employees aged 20 to 63. The other department has 37 employees today, who primarily work with invoicing and payment for Telenor Norway.

– Telenor blames excess capacity as the reason for the closure, but everyone at the customer center has been told that they can get a new job if they move. Then, in our opinion, there is no excess capacitysays Arnøy.

She says it is not just the 35 people at the customer center who are affected, the sales department is also getting a sharp reduction and there are also many members and colleagues there.

– We do not yet know how many of our members will be affected, but there are many, she says.

Questions and answers: The company is downsizing – do I have priority for other jobs in the group?

More than 100 employees

The changes, which will be introduced from 1 May, will involve downsizing of just over 100 employees in the company.

In addition, Telenor will implement a significant reduction in the number of temporary workers and consultants.

– Our surroundings are changing greatly, digitization is accelerating and opening up new opportunities. In order to meet our customers’ needs, we must digitize and explore new ways of working, says CEO of Telenor Norway, Birgitte Engebretsen, in a press release.

– Now we are concerned with implementing the changes in an orderly and good manner, and ensuring that those who are affected by the downsizing are taken care of as well as possible. This is a difficult message to receive, and we are doing what we can to help affected employees find other work. Permanent employees who are affected by staffing reductions will be offered a final agreement with adjustment assistance, says Engebretsen.

Ringnes employees breeds: – We are talking about 300 real people who will lose their jobs

Having problems

May-Iren Arnøy believes that those affected will have problems finding new work in the local area.

Nærøysund municipality is among the municipalities in Trøndelag with the highest unemployment and there are few alternative workplaces.

As recently as 2019, Nettverk visited the customer center in Rørvik and the Telenor employees in what was then Vikna municipality. There was great optimism then. Five years later, the situation is completely different.

– This came as a shock to many, says May-Iren Arnøy, local union representative and deputy leader of EL and the IT club in Telenor customer service.

Leif Martin Kirknes

EL og IT Forbundet: – Provocative

EL and IT Forbundet also reacts to the reasons given by the company for the dismissals.

– Telenor says that new working methods will make the tasks redundant, but we know that the company already hires many on a temporary basis in Eastern Norway for similar tasks that are carried out by the customer center in Rørvik. It is provocative, says leader of the EL and IT Association, Geir Ove Kulseth.

EL og IT Forbundet organizes the majority of the people who are now losing their jobs in Telenor in Rørvik and elsewhere in the country. Trade union representatives in EL and IT assist the members that Telenor wants to get rid of.

– We accept that working life is changing and that companies owned by the community must also adapt. Here, however, we believe that Telenor should have been aware of its social responsibility and kept important permanent jobs in the districts. Jobs that the company apparently needs, says Kulseth.

He points out that 35 jobs in Rørvik with around 3,500 inhabitants would amount to around 10,000 jobs in the million-dollar city of Oslo.

– This will have major consequences for both those who lose their jobs and for the local community, says Kulseth.