New union confederation excluded from current bargaining round
Published: 27 March 1998
The new Norwegian trade union confederation, Akademikerne, is legally prohibited from negotiating in the current 1998 bargaining round. Akademikerne had sought to have its negotiating rights established in two court cases, but the courts have ruled that the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations, from which seven of the eight Akademikerne member unions disassociated themselves in October 1997, still holds the bargaining rights for the 1998 round.
Download article in original language : NO9803158NNO.DOC
The new Norwegian trade union confederation, Akademikerne, is legally prohibited from negotiating in the current 1998 bargaining round. Akademikerne had sought to have its negotiating rights established in two court cases, but the courts have ruled that the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations, from which seven of the eight Akademikerne member unions disassociated themselves in October 1997, still holds the bargaining rights for the 1998 round.
The new trade union confederation for academically qualified staff, Akademikerne, has not won support for the right to bargain on behalf of its member unions during the 1998 wage bargaining round. After the employers in the state and municipal sector rejected Akademikerne's demands to be recognised as a party to the bargaining round, Akademikerne brought court cases against the state and The Norwegian Association of Local Authorities (Kommunenes Sentralforbund, KS), respectively (NO9802153N). The confederation has now lost both cases
The background to the dispute over recognition and bargaining rights within the public sector is that seven trade unions affiliated to the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (Akademikernes Fellesorganisasjon, AF) disassociated themselves from this organisation in October 1997 and formed a new confederation, Akademikerne (NO9711133F), with an eighth union. According to AF's statutes, the seven trade unions may not leave AF before 31 December 1999.
The Oslo Namsrett court ruled on 23 March 1998 that KS may bargain with AF for the seven Akademikerne member unions during the 1998 bargaining round. The Labour Court's ruling in the other case was delivered on 27 March, and it concluded that the state may bargain with AF regarding the seven Akademikerne members during the 1998 bargaining round.
The consequences of the rulings are somewhat different for the state and the municipal sectors. Within the state sector it is the bargaining cartels at confederation level which bargain, and a proposal for a new agreement is either accepted or rejected by the bargaining cartel itself. The negotiations which AF conducts with the state will therefore also be binding on Akademikerne's members.
Within the municipal sector the different trade unions affiliated to Akademikerne may reject or accept the proposal for a new agreement, even though the negotiations are conducted without their participation. The president of Akademikerne, Einar Madsen, says that its member unions will reject all proposals which are not negotiated by Akademikerne. By doing this, the organisation hopes that it will force KS to discuss wage demands with it.
Wage bargaining in the public sector commences when the union claims are received on 31 March. If the parties need assistance from the state mediator in order to reach a new agreement (a situation which is quite normal in this type of negotiations), the bargaining round will probably not be finalised until the second half of May.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1998), New union confederation excluded from current bargaining round, article.
