Signed declaration of cooperation on crisis management
The government and the main organizations have signed a declaration for the first time on faster and closer cooperation when Norway is hit by national crises. The goal is to ensure the population a more coordinated and well-functioning society when the crisis hits, according to the government.
– If we are to safeguard Norway's security, the whole of society must get involved. Public authorities, the social partners, the voluntary sector and the business community. Workers are the front line of preparedness, and the parties know where the shoe is pressing and which measures actually work. We must have people at work, and in the right place, for critical societal functions to function, states Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labour Party) in a press release.
The government and the main organizations agree that Norway needs clearer and more predictable frameworks for tripartite cooperation in national crises, such as security policy crises and war, natural disasters, health crises and economic shocks.
The cooperation declaration ensures that the parties have a permanent seat at the table when crises arise, and that dialogue is established long before a situation becomes serious. It provides a stronger foundation for trust, cooperation and a shared understanding of the situation.
– The declaration is fundamentally about the safety of most people. When authorities and the social partners cooperate more closely, society functions better in a crisis. The goal is to keep critical services running and to reduce the consequences for the population, says Minister of Employment and Inclusion Kjersti Stenseng.
In the Total Defence Year 2026, the government makes it clear that all sectors and authorities have a responsibility to involve the working parties in emergency preparedness work. The parties know the businesses and working parties from the inside, and are crucial for Norway to succeed with comprehensive, coordinated and anchored crisis management, the government press release states.
The Declaration of Cooperation commits the government and the parties to regularly raise preparedness in the permanent meeting arenas that already exist, so that the tripartite dialogue functions when a national crisis arises. These meeting spaces are used to discuss risks, needs and challenges in normal preparedness, and can quickly function as arenas for coordination and information sharing when the situation requires it.
The aim of the declaration is to ensure good dialogue and coordination between the government and the social partners in order to:
- Strengthen community resilience and maintain trust.
- Ensure rapid mobilization of labor and expertise.
- Contribute to coordinated communication and crisis management across sectors.