HARASSMENT: In the autumn of 2021, several female fishermen went public and described severe harassment and sexual harassment in the fishing industry. This lead to increased focus on this important subject, and to Susanne Mortensen being awarded a special award at Haugesundkonferansen 2023.
In 2022, the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) signed an agreement with the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud to prevent and stop harassment.
The agreement was also signed by the Norwegian Fishermen's Association, the Norwegian Coastal Fishermen's Association, the Norwegian Seafood Federation, the Norwegian Seafarers' Union, the Norwegian Pelagic Association and Hun fisker (She fishes).
Initially, it was valid until 1 September 2023. On 31 August, the parties met to discuss the road ahead. The agreement was extended.
Duties and rights
The Ship Labour Act and the Ship Safety and Security Act impose a duty on the employer to ensure a good psychosocial working environment. The NMA would like to emphasise the employer's duties, and we have made a useful overview.
Here, you can find:
- definitions of the terms «harassment», «sexual harassment» and «bullying»
- an overview of the legislation with the legal basis to ban harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination
- information about the employee's right to notify concerning censurable conditions
- information about the emplyer's/company's duties
Read the full document here (pdf - in Norwegian only).
Discouraging survey results
In 2023, harassment and sexual harassment were included in the survey «Maritime Safety». 27 per cent said that they had experienced bullying or sexual harassment in the last twelve months.
The NMA takes this result seriously and would like to help put this important challenge on the agenda.
"The agreement initially deals with fishing vessels. Unfortunately, however, the survey demonstrates a need to start dealing with unwanted behaviour across all of the maritime industry. There is zero tolerance for unwanted sexual attention and harassment. The numbers from the survey clearly illustrated that the agreement was an important first step, but also that the work needs to be continued and intensified."
This statement came from Director General of Shipping and Navigation, Knut Arild Hareide, when the results from the survey were presented.