1997 was a year with few industrial conflicts in Norway, according to recently published statistics. The six-week strike on mobile oil installations in the North Sea during the autumn was the only major labour dispute during 1997.
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1997 was a year with few industrial conflicts in Norway, according to recently published statistics. The six-week strike on mobile oil installations in the North Sea during the autumn was the only major labour dispute during 1997.
1997 was a year which saw few labour disputes in Norway. Preliminary figures indicate that approximately 15,000 working days were lost due to industrial conflict during 1997. In the annual report from the State Mediator, only two industrial conflicts are referred to. The largest dispute was a six-week strike on mobile oil installations in the North Sea (NO9710128N). The strike - which broke out when the Federation of Offshore Workers Trade Union (Oljearbeidernes Fellessammenslutning, OFS) and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association (Norsk Rederiforbund) could not agree on a new wage agreement - involved at the most 450 workers. The conflict was brought to an end when the Government intervened through compulsory arbitration. There was also a minor dispute within the fishing fleet, where three vessels were hit by strike action. This dispute was resolved when negotiations were resumed after eight days of strike action.
The annual report does not include industrial action which lasted less than 24 hours, and information from employers' organisations and the press suggests that there were a few such strikes during 1997. Labour disputes include lawful, unlawful and political strikes, and lockouts.
Most currenrt Norwegian pay agreements are two-year agreements which expire during 1998 (NO9801145F). The 1997 wage settlement was therefore a mid-term-settlement, in which the only negotiating issue was the level of remuneration. It is a clear pattern that the number of days lost due to industrial conflict is lower during the years with mid-term-settlements, compared with the years when the whole agreement is renegotiated. The low number of days lost due to industrial conflict for 1997 is in sharp contrast to the figures for 1996, when approximately 550,000 days were lost in a total of 18 disputes (NO9702103N).
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1998), Few strikes in Norway during 1997, article.
