Three reported to the police after storaksjon against auto repair shops – northern lights

public roads administration went on Wednesday and Thursday this week to action against in all 16 unregistered workshops from Brønnøy in the south to Alta in the north.

- Three of these businesses will be prosecuted for illegal verksteddrift, says Ingunn Foslund, the section head the supervision of the Norwegian public roads administration, region north, to the northern lights.

In Tromsø were three businesses controlled in the coordinated action, where also the police, the labour Inspection authority, NAV Control and the tax administration participated. Foslund will not yet state whether any of these will be reviewed.

Bilskilter registered

Multiple car owners in Northern Norway will in the near future get the notice to the technical inspection after they have had the vehicle in for repair at these companies.

We have taken registration numbers of the vehicles both inside and outside the workshops. The owners of these cars will now be called for technical inspection at the Norwegian public roads administration. We will among other check if the fixes are done according to the regulations, and whether it is used approved parts and tools, tells Foslund to the northern lights.

Verkstedbedriftene can also get responses and orders from other government agencies. According to a press release, the tax administration have identified deficiencies which will lead to tax audits. The labour inspection ordered the halt in the use of equipment in several of the businesses.

Norwegian public roads administration has also alerted both the fire department and the technical department in the respective municipalities after storaksjonen.

- Incendiary

Foslund characterize several of the workshops that were investigated as pure incendiary.

- They operate in premises without venting, where it is stored gas and chemicals. If it in addition comes out bensindamp, it is just a spark. Some of the workshops we have investigated is pure incendiary. The premises is the head of the household is not approved for employment or verksteddrift, says Foslund.

the Norwegian public roads administration alerts more actions against auto repair shops and bilpleievirksomheter in North-Norway in the coming weeks.

At four of the 16 businesses that were checked this week there was no activity when the Norwegian public roads administration struck. These will be checked again, ” says Foslund.

Three wishes to get approval

Three of the verkstedeierne have announced that they now wish to seek approval.

- Some admit immediately that they do not have approval, but that they want it. Others claim that they only repair their own or kompisenes cars. Although some of the businesses being reviewed, so won’t prevent that we can help them to get an approval, informs the Foslund.

Norwegian public roads administration encourages car owners to be more critical when they choose the workshop. It is today registered 532 approved workshops in the North of Norway. 128 businesses have spesialgodkjenninger.

Bilbransjeforeninga estimates that the black workshop labour constitutes a value of around three billion – each year – in Norway.