Revised Minimum Wage Rates

The meetings held at the State mediator’s office, with Fellesforbundet and Byggenæringens Landsforening led to the following changes with regard to minimum wage rates for workers that fall under the scope of the building and construction tariff area (Fellesoverenskomsten for byggfag).

The following minimum salary rates have been agreed with effect from 1 April 2010:

______________________	1. april 2010	1. april 2011
Skilled workers	NOK 154.50	NOK 159
Employees with at least one year of construction work experience	NOK 144.50	NOK 149
Employees without experience	NOK 139	NOK 143

Applies to all
The minimum wages will be stated in a new/revised Regulation to the Act regarding General Application of Tariff Agreements, and applies to all skilled and unskilled workers that carry out building and construction work on building sites in Norway.
The revised Regulation has not yet been published. We assume, however, that the following regulations will remain unchanged:

Additional compensation for overtime: 50% of the hourly rate
Additional compensation for work between 9.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. and for work on Sundays and holidays: 100% of the hourly rate.

The employers will in addition have to cover the following costs:

Necessary travel costs between the employee’s home and the building site when the project starts and finishes, as well as costs related to a “fair number” of home trips during the course of the project
Costs related to food and lodging (cost-coverage or daily allowance)
Working clothes and protective gear.

In addition, the following Acts still apply in part or in full:

Health and safety at work Act (17 June 2005 no. 62)
Holidays Act (29 April 1988, No. 21)
Act regarding 1st and 17th of May as public holidays (26 April 1947 No. 1).

More updates
We will provide further updates, should the new/revised Regulation regarding General Application of the Tariff Agreement related to building and construction contain other important amendments that we are unaware of at this time.

More information
Please refer any questions or comments you might have to one of the contact persons below:

Cathrine B. Dalheim , Oslo
Telephone: 4063 9055

Torbjørn Amundsen , Oslo
Telephone: 4063 9012

Elin Kvitberg , Tromsø
Telephone: 4063 9982

Thor-Hugo F. Jensen , Bergen
Telephone: 4063 9748

Torkil Kvithyll , Trondheim
Telephone: 4063 9840

Anne Tengs-Pedersen, Stavanger
Telephone: 4063 9630