Norway
Background information on industrial relations in Norway
- 28 Dec 1999
Norway: Contest begins for LO presidency<#PDF_LINK>In the spring of 2001, the position of president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) will be vacant, and the various factions within the organisation have already begun to position themselves in late 1999. LO's vice-president, whose background in in the public sector, strengthened her position when the leader of LO's bargaining cartel in the state sector surprisingly withdrew his candidature in November 1999. There are strong forces in operation trying to find an alternative candidate from the private sector unions.
- 28 Dec 1999
Norway: Teachers dissatisfied with state Budget and school policy<#PDF_LINK>In November 1999, teachers at various schools in Norway took strike action in protest against the government's state Budget, and its proposed measures to improve the recruitment situation for teachers. The teachers' trade unions claimed that they were engaging in legal industrial action, while employers sought an end to what it regarded as illegal strikes.
- 28 Dec 1999
Norway: Committee issues report on future of working life<#PDF_LINK>in December 1999, the government-appointed Working Life Committee delivered its report on the future challenges facing Norwegian working life. The committee's mandate was to examine the basis for a future evaluation of, and possible alterations to, the system of regulation, and to identify and analyse developments which have consequences for flexibility in working life.
- 28 Dec 1999
Norway: New rules introduced on private employment services<#PDF_LINK>In December 1999, the Norwegian parliament approved new regulations on private employment agencies and the "leasing" of labour. The new provisions constitute a liberalisation of existing rules on the leasing of labour, while the general ban on private employment agencies is abolished.
- 28 Dec 1999
Norway: Employee share ownership and stock options on the increase<#PDF_LINK>In 1999, the Norwegian company Orkla ASA decided to offer company shares at a 20% discount to its 18,850 employees. By the end of 1999, the scheme had turned out to be a success, and approximately 25% of workers in Norway had acquired shares. Several studies indicate that a large majority of Norwegian employees are positive about employee share-ownership.
- 28 Dec 1999
Norway: 1999 Annual Review for NORWAY<#PDF_LINK>This record reviews 1999's main developments in industrial relations in NORWAY
- 28 Nov 1999
Norway: Professionals seek change to public sector pay system<#PDF_LINK>The Norwegian Medical Association (Dnlf) held its national conference in October 1999. The issue of the future pay bargaining structure in the public sector was discussed, and it became clear that Akademikerne, the trade union confederation for academically-qualified professionals to which Dnlf is affiliated, will be seeking major changes in the 2000 bargaining round.
- 28 Nov 1999
Norway: LO private services unions demand greater focus on their sector<#PDF_LINK>LO Service, the private services sector bargaining cartel of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), held its annual conference in November 1999. The unions involved emphasised that LO must take into consideration in its policy formation the increasing significance of the service sector. A proposal from the deputy leader of LO to seek an amalgamation of LO, the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (AF) and the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS), received considerable attention.
- 28 Oct 1999
Norway: Changes proposed to Equal Status Act<#PDF_LINK>The Norwegian Ministry of Children and Family Affairs put forward a proposal in October 1999 to change the Equal Status Act. Among the proposals to be considered by the relevant parties is a minimum requirement with regard to both sexes being represented on the boards of private and public enterprises.
- 28 Oct 1999
Norway: LO-NHO report on working time schedules<#PDF_LINK>As part of Norway's 1998 spring pay settlement, the NHO employers' confederation and LO trade union confederation decided to consider possible changes to working time schedules. The report, which was published in September 1999, shows differing views with regards to the best working time models. Both LO and NHO, however, want to see some sort of "time-account scheme".
- 28 Oct 1999
Norway: Increasing trade union use of the internet<#PDF_LINK>The internet is becoming more important in Norwegian working life, and a June 1999 survey indicates that approximately two-thirds of all members of the LO trade union confederation have access to the Internet. Most LO members, however, still regard traditional union journals as the most important channels for information about trade union activity.
- 28 Sep 1999
Norway: Uncertainty hits oil sector<#PDF_LINK>Some 12,000 employees in Norway's offshore oil-production industry took strike action in September 1999 against the government's apparent lack of initiative in the face of the present crisis in the Norwegian oil sector. There is growing uncertainty about the industry's future, and significant increases in unemployment are expected in the near future.
- 28 Sep 1999
Norway: Competitive tendering on the political agenda<#PDF_LINK>Privatisation and the competitive tendering of municipal services was on the agenda during the Norwegian general election campaign in spring 1999 and again in the municipal elections in September 1999. The political parties of the right want an increased use of competitive tendering, while trade unions and the Labour Party want to see a more restrictive policy.
- 28 Sep 1999
Norway: Consensus about partial privatisation of Statoil<#PDF_LINK>In August 1999, the board of the Norwegian oil company Statoil recommended its partial privatisation and called for all or a major part of the assets of the state's direct financial interest in petroleum operations to be transferred to Statoil. Trade unions support the basic principles of the recommendation, but do not want to see the state lose its majority stake and its direct involvement in Norwegian petroleum activity.
- 28 Sep 1999
Norway: European coordination of collective bargaining on the trade union agenda<#PDF_LINK>The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions held its third national convention in September 1999, and at the top of the agenda was the issue of international coordination of collective bargaining. The federation has already taken the first steps towards a Nordic coordination of bargaining.
- 28 Sep 1999
Norway: Closed shop practice tried in court<#PDF_LINK>A ruling by the municipal court of Oslo on 18 August 1999 stipulates that the practice of closed shop is not prohibited by Norwegian law. Many employees in enterprises connected to LO, and employees within the administration of LO, are subject to closed shop practice. As a result of the ruling the issue may soon be back on the parliamentary agenda.
- 28 Aug 1999
Norway: Broader representation for social partners on public committees<#PDF_LINK>In 1999 representation on Norwegian public committees in the employment field has been extended to include more social partner organisations, from both the employee and employer side. When the Technical Calculating Committee on Income Settlements (TBU) was reappointed in June 1999, the organisations representing agriculture and fishing were replaced by several new trade union and employers' organisations.
- 28 Aug 1999
Norway: Private sector unions agree to cooperate<#PDF_LINK>The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions, affiliated to the LO confederation, and the Norwegian Society of Engineers, which is soon to leave the AF confederation, concluded an agreement to collaborate in summer 1999.
- 28 Aug 1999
Norway: Telework agreement concluded at Statoil<#PDF_LINK>An agreement on teleworking was concluded in June 1999 between the Norwegian oil company Statoil and the Norwegian Oil and Petrochemical Workers Union (Nopef). The new agreement provides a structural framework for home-based telework within Statoil, but leaves room for more flexible arrangements at workplace level.
- 28 Aug 1999
Norway: SAS employees end industrial action against outsourcing<#PDF_LINK>The dispute between Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS) and its ground staff was resolved after a meeting between management and trade union representatives on 9 August 1999. SAS management reluctantly accepted the unions' demand not to consider a possible outsourcing of ground staff
- 28 Jul 1999
Norway: Moderate optimism on economy as wage growth moderates<#PDF_LINK>The Norwegian government's revised Budget for 1999, which was passed by parliament on 18 June 1999, made no major changes to economic policy. In the aftermath of the moderate 1999 wage settlement, the government has scaled down its wage growth estimates for 1999.
- 28 Jul 1999
Norway: YS want closer cooperation among trade union confederations<#PDF_LINK>Norway's Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) held its national conference in June 1999. The proposal to merge with the Confederation of Academic and Professional Associations (AF) in order to create a new trade union confederation received unanimous support at the conference, and it was also decided to seek closer cooperation with the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).
- 28 Jul 1999
Norway: Gender equality Ombudsman questions increase in minimum income requirement for sick pay<#PDF_LINK>In a letter to the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs sent on 29 June 1999, Norway's Ombudsman for Gender Equality argued that a recent legal adjustment raising the minimum income level required for entitlement to sick pay benefits, is a violation of the Act on equal status between the sexes. The Ombudsman's assessment does not mean a reversal of the legal changes, but that gender equality should be given special consideration in determining if the regulatory framework is to be re-evaluated.
- 28 Jul 1999
Norway: Supreme Court rulings make transfers of employees in outsourcing more difficult<#PDF_LINK>Two Supreme Court rulings in June 1999 have upheld the right of employees in some cases to avoid being transferred to a new employer when an enterprise transfers support functions to another enterprise. Employees may choose to stay with their original employer, which in turn is obliged either to provide alternative work, or to resort to ordinary legal dismissals.
- 28 Jul 1999
Norway: Norwegian SAS employees refuse to work extra overtime<#PDF_LINK>From 14 July 1999, Norwegian ground staff at the SAS airline have refused to work extra overtime in protest against the airline's plans to increase company earnings by means of outsourcing approximately 7,000 jobs in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Industrial action may be extended to cover all SAS ground staff in Norway
- 28 Jun 1999
Norway: Public committee will evaluate collective bargaining system<#PDF_LINK>In late May 1998, the Norwegian government appointed a public committee to review the workings of the present collective bargaining system and the framework for pay determination. The committee comprises representatives from all the major social partner organisations, and will submit its report at the end of 2000.
- 28 Jun 1999
Norway: 1998 marked by a significant number of strikes<#PDF_LINK>Official figures indicate a relatively large number of industrial disputes in Norway during 1998. Some 286,000 working days were lost in 36 labour disputes, mainly in relation to renegotiations of national collective agreements.
- 28 Jun 1999
Norway: Controversial Opening Hours Act amended<#PDF_LINK>In June 1999, the Norwegian parliament approved a proposal to amend the controversial Opening Hours Act. The changes have been introduced in an effort to prevent the apparently ambiguous interpretations by some commercial enterprises of the Act's clauses allowing exemptions.
- 28 Jun 1999
Norway: Postal workers' unions to merge<#PDF_LINK>The Norwegian Union of Postal Employees and the Norwegian Union of Postal Workers are planning a merger on 1 July 2000. The new organisation will organise some 30,000 employees in the Norwegian postal service.
- 28 May 1999
Norway: New collective agreements signed in public sector<#PDF_LINK>May 1999 saw the collective agreements in Norway's public sector renegotiated without any recourse to industrial action. In general, the agreements seem to be within the agreed framework of around 4.5% growth in pay, even though the settlement in the municipal sector is estimated to lead to growth of 4.88%.
- 28 May 1999
Norway: New trade union confederation planned<#PDF_LINK>Plans to create a new Norwegian trade union confederation were made public on 20 May 1999, with the possible merger of the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (AF) and the Norwegian Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS). The leaders of the two confederations aim to complete the creation of the new organisation for white-collar workers some time in 2000.
- 28 May 1999
Norway: LO and HSH conclude service sector agreement<#PDF_LINK>The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions and the Commercial Employers' Association reached an agreement on 7 May 1999 concerning revised wage rates for employees in the wholesale and retail trade. Most employees will receive wage increases of at least NOK 1.20 per hour, while the lowest-paid groups will receive twice as much.
- 28 Apr 1999
Norway: New private sector agreement concluded<#PDF_LINK>The national pay negotiations in the private sector between the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) ended in agreement on 12 April 1999. A majority of the employees covered by the new agreement will not be awarded any central pay increase. The parties believe that the settlement is in line with what they agreed at the beginning of the negotiations, which specified that the general pay increase for 1999 should not exceed 4.5%.
- 28 Apr 1999
Norway: Joint declaration on creation of new union for education staff<#PDF_LINK>In March 1999, the two largest trade unions in Norway's education sector issued a joint statement on their plans to create a new organisation, which would have some 120,000 members. The process should take two years, and the aim is to have the new organisation ready for pay negotiations in 2002.
- 28 Apr 1999
Norway: Government proposes easing ban on private employment agencies<#PDF_LINK>The Minister of Labour and Government Administration made public in April 1999 the Norwegian government's intention to lift the ban on private employment agencies, and to establish a public temporary work agency. The decision follows the recommendation of a public committee that discussed this issue, and both employers and trade unions are generally positive towards such a move.
- 28 Apr 1999
Norway: Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions celebrates its centenary<#PDF_LINK>The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) celebrates its centenary in 1999, having been founded on 1 April 1899, and several major events will mark the event during the year. LO remains an influential organisation, playing an important role in incomes policy and collective bargaining.
- 28 Apr 1999
Norway: New HSH-YS agreement for service sector criticised by LO union<#PDF_LINK>On 21 April 1999, the Commercial Employers' Association (HSH) and the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) reached a deal in the negotiations to renew their agreements in Norway's service sector. The leader of the largest service sector union affiliated to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) responded negatively to the fact that HSH had concluded its negotiations with YS before its negotiations with LO had been completed.
- 28 Mar 1999
Norway: Joint committee establishes foundation for 1999 pay round<#PDF_LINK>Pay growth in Norway for 1999 should not exceed 4.5%, according to a recommendation by a joint committee comprising all the main social partners. The implication of this proposal is that large groups of workers will receive only moderate wage increases in the spring 1999 bargaining round. The committee also recommends a gradual introduction of the proposed reform of skills and training, but says nothing as to how the reform should be financed.
- 28 Mar 1999
Norway: The spring 1999 pay round commences<#PDF_LINK>On 18 March 1999, Norway's spring bargaining round began with the opening of negotiations in the private sector. Employers and trade unions have come to a prior agreement to keep the growth in pay for 1999 within a 4.5% limit, and the most difficult issue during the negotiations will be how skills and training reform will be financed.
- 28 Mar 1999
Norway: Controversial court ruling on Opening Hours Act<#PDF_LINK>In March 1999, the supermarket chain, RIMI, was acquitted of breaching the provisions of Norway's new and controversial Opening Hours Act. The ruling is not likely to set a precedent for the future, because the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs has already put forward a proposal to abolish some of the exclusions provided for by the Act.
- 28 Mar 1999
Norway: Committee to examine flexibility in working life<#PDF_LINK>In March 1999, the Norwegian government appointed a tripartite committee with the task of examining the main challenges facing working life in the future. The main focus of the committee's work will be the presumed need for more flexibility, and the controversial issue of overtime work may be put on its agenda.
- 28 Mar 1999
Norway: Pay negotiations break down<#PDF_LINK>Norway's 1999 pay negotiations in the private sector broke down on 25 March 1999. Mediation was due to commence after the Easter holidays, which had to find a solution to the question of the financing of skills and training reform, among other issues.
- 28 Feb 1999
Norway: Pay up 6.5% in 1998<#PDF_LINK>Pay growth in Norway in 1998 is estimated to have been around 6.25% - significantly higher than in previous years. Over the year, prices rose by 2.3%, and the average real income growth after tax was 3.7%. These are among the findings of the February 1999 report of Technical Calculating Committee on Income Settlements, setting the scene for the 1999 bargaining round.
- 28 Feb 1999
Norway: Three unions to merge in financial sector<#PDF_LINK>In February 1999, the first steps were taken in the direction of creating a new trade union for employees in the Norwegian financial sector, when three unions decided to merge. The new organisation, to be called the Finance Sector Union, will have some 36,500 members.
- 28 Feb 1999
Norway: LO takes on new role as consumer and service organisation<#PDF_LINK>During 1999, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) is introducing a new membership card scheme, which includes both traditional membership services as well as a package deal which provides several consumer benefits.
- 28 Feb 1999
Norway: AF elects new leader<#PDF_LINK>Following the resignation of the incumbent, Aud Blankholm was elected as the new leader of the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (AF) on 28 January 1999. Rule changes and an evaluation of union policies were also approved by the troubled union confederation's representative committee.
- 28 Jan 1999
Norway: New opening hours lead to dispute<#PDF_LINK>New legal provisions regulating Sunday and evening trading in Norway came into effect on 1 January 1999. The Opening Hours Act is controversial, and there is a great debate raging on the issue of how to interpret some of the exclusions from the general ban on Sunday trading.
- 28 Jan 1999
Norway: LO seeks to appeal to the well educated<#PDF_LINK>At a conference in early January 1999, Norway's LO trade union confederation claimed that its affiliated federations were a better alternative for employees who had been educated at college or university level than other unions. At the same time, an internal LO committee asserted that some groups within the public sector who take higher degrees lose out in pay over the long term. As such, the committee's chair believes that these groups will have a strong case in future pay settlements.
- 28 Jan 1999
Norway: NITO board recommends leaving AF<#PDF_LINK>In January 1999, the executive board of the Norwegian Society of Engineers (NITO) decided unanimously to recommend that the organisation disassociate from the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (AF). The final decision will be made at an extraordinary meeting of NITO's general council.
- 28 Jan 1999
Norway: New LO union for professional sportsmen and women<#PDF_LINK>From 1 January 1999, the Norwegian Athletes Organisation (NISO), has been admitted as a federation into the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). The federation, which organises sportsmen and women within football, ice hockey and handball, has requested collective agreements for its members at several Premier League football clubs.
- 28 Jan 1999
Norway: Parliament adopts legislation on further and continuing education reform<#PDF_LINK>When the Norwegian Parliament adopted legislation on further and continuing education reform on 19 January 1999, it also provided for an individual right to leave of absence for educational purposes. Parliament has emphasised the value of acquired knowledge/skills and the need to set up a documented system for them.