Sund Laks does not have the capital to pay full compensation following trade union action.
Sund Laks lost its lawsuit against 45 Polish workers in early July. The verdict stated that Sund Laks discriminated and violated the rules on preferential rights when union organised workers were not given a job in the new company after its previous iteration Norse Production went bankrupt.
Last year, Norse’s Norway-based, Polish workforce went on strike in the autumn of 2017. The union accused the company of “social dumping” — a policy of paying foreign workers less than their local counterparts.
The company staffs and operates salmon processor Sekkingstad’s harvest plant near Bergen, on the west coast of Norway. Four out of 45 former employees demanded to return to work at new company Sund Laks, while all 45 claimed compensation for the loss incurred when it not want to hire them in April last year.
Sund Laks had to pay EUR 2 million in compensation. The verdict was appealed. Now, the business is asking for mediation to avoid another round of court proceedings. LO, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions is positive about the proposal, wrote Klassekampen.
“In almost all cases, we will be positive about mediation. This is the best way to secure the interests of the members. We can get a result that can be satisfactory, we save the extensive work that comes with a trial. Members also release the burden,” said LO lawyer Edvard Bakke to the publication.
Sund Laks said it has limited funds to cover in order to cover the compensation amount. At year-end, the company had a total balance of EUR 1.2 million, most of which is debt-financed. Equity was EUR 3000.