AF scraps plans to create new union confederation

On 14 June 2000, the Confederation of Norwegian Professional Associations (AF) decided to end its involvement in a planned merger with the Norwegian Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS), and the Norwegian Police Federation. AF stated that the deliberation process had made it evident that there was not a sufficient basis for a new union confederation.

On 14 June 2000, the elected board of the Confederation of Norwegian Professional Associations (Akademikernes Hovedorganisasjon, AF) issued a public recommendation to end AF's involvement in a planned merger with the Norwegian Confederation of Vocational Unions (Yrkesorganisasjonenes Sentralforbund, YS) and the Norwegian Police Federation (Politiets Fellesforbund, PF). The decision came after almost a year of consideration and negotiations involving the two trade union confederations and PF. The new confederation had been due to come into operation on 1 January 2001.

The plans for a new Norwegian trade union confederation was first made public on 20 May 1999, when the leaders of AF and YS, Aud Blankholm and Randi Bjørgen respectively, took the initiative to consider the basis for a possible merger of the two organisations to form a new confederation (NO9905132N). PF joined the process at later stage. At the time, the main reason given for the merger was the increasingly fragmented structure of Norwegian industrial relations, with four competing union confederations. Since 1997, AF has lost almost half of its membership base, with many of its affiliated unions leaving to form a new confederation for academically qualified staff, Akademikerne,(NO9711133F) and others opting for independence (NO9901111N). Furthermore, several unions within both YS and AF are considering mergers or cooperative ventures with other unions - including AF's third largest member union, the Teachers' Union Norway (Lærerforbundet) (NO9904127N), and YS's largest member union in the municipal sector, the Norwegian Association of Health and Social Care Personnel (Norsk Helse- og Sosialforbund, NHS) (NO9809185F). Ms Blankholm and Ms Bjørgen envisaged the planned new confederation as an alternative aimed at independent unions as well as at their own member unions.

The process of deliberation was never expected to be an easy undertaking, and there was significant discontent with the proposal from the start, especially from YS's bargaining cartel in the state sector, YS-Stat (NO0002179F). The joint steering committee responsible for the deliberation process nevertheless delivered its report in February 2000, which outlined a new political platform and several proposals for an organisational structure. On 14 June, AF stated in a brief press release that the reason for the board's recommendation not to merge was that the deliberation process had made it evident that there was not a sufficient basis for a new confederation. The board's recommendation was to be considered by the AF representative committee on 21 June 2000. Ms Bjørgen and other YS leaders have expressed disappointed with AF's decision to pull out of the merger process, but state that this have no effect on the organisational activity of YS.