Elena is a NITO member 120,000
The company group in GE Healthcare got Elena to change unions. Here, more than 80 NITO members stand together for a better working day, and there are three issues in particular that concern the members.
Elena Martinez-Frances Øien was surprised with flowers and a Rab sack at a member meeting of GE Healthcare in Oslo. She became a NITO member of 120,000 when she chose to change unions.
"I wanted information about the average salary for my position as a quality controller. I got this from NITO union representative Mads Thorsby after I changed unions," she says.
Over 80 colleagues of Elena are members of NITO and it gives security to stand together to solve challenges in the workplace.
The company group is a team
Salary engages the members of the company group, and union representative Mads Thorsby spends a lot of time on salary negotiations and following up on questions about pay. But the work as a union representative is also about the working environment and the challenges the members face in everyday life.
Thorsby is pleased that the group is growing and attractive. For him, the most important thing is that the members stand together and are a team. He himself became a union representative to contribute to a better working day and work against injustice.
"For me, it is a matter of course to be unionised. When we stand together, we stand stronger against violations from the employer.
Mads Thorsby
Shortage of office space and new roster
Together with union representatives from other unions, he meets with the management to influence the working environment and everyday work. Now there are two specific challenges on the table.
After covid, GE Healthcare staffed up and they could lean on home offices. But now the company lacks around 100 permanent office spaces, says Thorsby.
"Fortunately, it is about to be solved with a new floor in one of the buildings we have. Then everyone will have their own space.
At the same time as the space challenges are increasing, the work pressure is increasing. The management will introduce on-call arrangements that will require more of the employees. The company group is therefore working on how the arrangements should be designed and what conditions the affected employees should have.
"We are concerned with how the on-call arrangements will be and the conditions for the employees who will be affected. It is a large process that we are working on and where all the unions are involved. We are working well together with the other company groups on this," he says.
More people want to stand together
More and more engineers see the importance of organizing in order to influence working life in a good direction. Grethe Valdø is one of the driving forces in NITO and is a member of the executive board. She joined a member meeting in GE Healthcare to celebrate Elena and at the same time told a little about her own journey in NITO.
"I established a company group in DNV in 2004 and then NITO had 70,000 members. In just over 20 years, 50,000 new engineers have chosen to become members.
With a world that is constantly changing faster and faster, Grethe is happy for everyone new. Because it is through standing together that the voice of the engineers is heard.
"We must not take our rights for granted, but fight to keep what the unions have fought for. At the same time, we must work to get new rights when working life is changing. It is therefore important that we stand together," Valdø states.
"I am a trade unionist because it provides the opportunity for support in connection with the employment relationship and in salary negotiations. And a number of benefits such as discounts and banking services.
Elena Martinez-Frances Øien
