Oslo health commissioner highlights Task Delegation Project aimed at employing long-term unemployed individuals

The health commissioner of Oslo, Saliba Andreas Korkunc, discussed the “Task Delegation Project” recently, emphasizing its role in helping long-term unemployed individuals find jobs. The initiative aims to relieve nurses and healthcare professionals by assigning tasks that do not require formal education, such as making beds, cleaning medical equipment, and heating food.

However, the Fagforbundet union has reacted strongly against Oslo municipality’s claims of facilitating employment for the long-term unemployed. Stig Berntsen, the chief union representative for Fagforbundet in the health sector, criticized the city council’s assertions, suggesting that they have not genuinely supported this effort.

Reportedly, an email exchange between the municipality and the union revealed that it took multiple reminders and threats of legal action for two long-term unemployed participants in the project to receive permanent positions. Meanwhile, another long-term unemployed person allegedly had their contract terminated the same day the politicians showcased the project on television.

During an interview about the project, Korkunc and Julianne Ferskaug, the commissioner for social services, portrayed the initiative as mutually beneficial and expressed hopes that other municipalities would replicate it. Despite this, Berntsen argues that the municipality initially intended to create no permanent positions.

Korkunc acknowledged that the project’s purpose is to give long-term unemployed individuals a chance but clarified that it does not guarantee jobs. The project has concluded at the Municipal Acute Care Unit but is set to continue in a nursing home and supported housing facilities, positioning long-term unemployed participants in ways that complicate calls for permanent employment.

Oslo, like many Norwegian municipalities, faces a significant demand for healthcare staff, with forecasts suggesting a potential shortfall of up to 28,000 nurses by 2035. Despite the high demand, qualified healthcare workers are frequently assigned tasks outside their specialty, which led to the inception of the “Task Delegation Project.”