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Yrkestrafikkforbundet The Labour Party met this week in the Storting to demand changes to the rules on waiting periods for unemployment benefits. The union believes that the current arrangement of 18 weeks of quarantine time is unreasonably harsh on workers, and in practice acts as a double punishment for people who have already lost their jobs .
Today, employees who are dismissed due to circumstances for which they can be blamed (e.g., driver's license seizure) may lose the right to unemployment benefits for 18 weeks. YTF believes the rule has become far too strict, and points out that the waiting period was previously significantly shorter. Before 2016 it was 8 weeks, then it increased to 12 weeks and then 18 weeks.
Met the Labour Party at the Storting
Now has YTF taken the matter to the Storting. Federation leader Trude Sande, together with advisor Rameen Sheikh-Saastad and secretary general Linda Jæger, met this week with parliamentary representative Agnes Nærland Viljugrein (AP) and Morten Sandanger (AP) from the Labor and Social Affairs Committee to discuss the issue.
Professional drivers are hit extra hard
– We believe that the current rules are unreasonably harsh. People who have already lost their jobs should not lose their entire financial safety net for several months at the same time. Another thing is that we are also experiencing that employers are now terminating employment more quickly than before, which is also an additional burden on our members, says the union leader. Recently, YTF a member who had to wait for unemployment benefits twice after the same traffic accident. After a complaint from YTF NAV reversed the decision.
The association points out in particular how the rule hits professions with high safety requirements, such as the transport industry, particularly hard. For professional drivers, losing their driver's license can lead to losing their job, even after isolated errors or incidents.
Reduce the waiting time or change the law
YTF points out that many members experience being left completely without income if their driver's license is confiscated, or they lose their job as a result of an incident at work. In addition, unemployment benefits only cover part of previous income when the benefit first comes into effect. The union therefore believes that the current system with a 4.5-month waiting period acts as a disproportionately strict response.
– It is understandable that certain incidents have consequences in working life, especially in professions with great responsibility. But when you have already lost your job, we believe it is wrong that you should also lose the right to income security for such a long time, says Sande.
YTF proposes either reducing the waiting period, or amending the legal text so that it only applies to serious breaches of duty.
– This is about legal certainty and having a safety net that actually works when people need it most, says the union leader.
