Section 6-1. Obligation to elect safety representatives

(1) Safety representatives shall be elected at all undertakings subject to this Act. At undertakings with fewer than five employees, the parties may agree in writing upon a different arrangement, which may involve agreeing that the undertaking shall not have a safety representative. Unless otherwise provided regarding the period of validity of the agreement, it shall be considered to apply for two years from the date of signature. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority may, following a concrete assessment of the circumstances at the undertaking, decide that it shall nevertheless have a safety representative. At undertakings with more than 10 employees, two or more safety representatives may be elected.
(2) The number of safety representatives shall be decided according to the size of the undertaking, the nature of the work and working conditions in general. If the undertaking consists of several separate departments or if employees work shifts, at least one safety representative shall generally be elected for each department or shift team. Each safety area shall be clearly delimited and shall not be larger than that the safety representative can have full control and properly attend to his duties.
(3) Undertakings with more than one safety representative shall have at least one senior safety representative, who shall be responsible for coordinating the activities of the safety representatives. The senior safety representative shall be elected from among the safety representatives or other persons who hold or have held positions of trust at the undertaking.
(4) Notices giving the names of those acting as safety representatives at any given time shall be posted at the workplace.
(5) The Ministry may issue regulations with further provisions concerning the number of safety representatives, concerning elections, including conditions governing the right to vote and eligibility, concerning the right of the local trade union to appoint safety representatives, and the safety representatives' term of office.