Trade union mergers in the pipeline

A number of trade union mergers are under consideration in Norway. In November 2003, four trade unions affiliated to the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) gave their go-ahead to further moves towards a possible merger in 2004. Meanwhile, within the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), two mergers are under debate, involving a total of eight unions.

In late 2003, four trade unions affiliated to the Confederation of Vocational Unions (Yrkesorganisasjonenes Sentralforbund, YS) have come a long way in preparing for a merger. If everything goes according to plan, the new union will be formally established in autumn 2004. The new union will have approximately 90,000 members, becoming YS’s largest affiliate and Norway’s fourth-largest trade union. Several member unions of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) are also considering possible mergers: in the transport and service sector, six unions are considering the creation of a single service sector union; while in manufacturing industry, the Graphical Workers' Union (Norsk Grafisk Forbund, NGF) is negotiating a possible merger with the Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions (Fellesforbundet).

Plans to create new YS union

The four YS unions planning a possible merger have made significant progress. At the outset, only three unions were involved in the plans - the Norwegian Confederation of Municipal Employees (Kommunalansattes Fellesforbund, KFO), the Union of Civil Servants in Norway (Statstjenestemannsforbundet, STAFO) and the Union of Public and Private Sector Employees (Flerfaglig FellesOrganisasjon, 2fo). These unions predominantly organise employees in various areas of the public sector, including enterprises deregulated through privatisation or transformed into municipal- or state-owned public limited companies. The three unions entered into an agreement of intent in August 2002 with a view to establishing a new organisation through a merger. In the autumn of 2003, a fourth union joined the process - the Confederation of Employees in the Private Sector (Privatansattes Fellesorganisasjon, PRIFO).

The four unions are currently discussing the basis for creating a new organisation, and have instigated a merger debate among their members and shop stewards. In November 2003, all unions involved decided to continue the work towards establishing a new union in 2004. The spring of 2004 will be spent discussing the shape of the new union in terms of organisational rules and structure, coordination of shop steward training, joint administration etc. Decisions on finalising the merger are to be taken in all four unions in June 2004, and the new union should be formally established on 30 November 2004.

The four trade unions organise different occupations and sectors. While the members of STAFO and 2fo are mostly found in the state sector and in previously state-owned enterprises, members of KFO are mainly municipal employees. PRIFO, on the other hand, organises blue-collar and white-collar workers in the private sector. A merged union would thus cover a range of different collective bargaining units in both the public and private sector. All four unions compete with other unions within their respective branches, first and foremost LO affiliates. Several of them are also significantly smaller than their LO counterparts.

Some of the four unions include occupationally-based associations enjoying great independence on issues relating to their own occupation. The largest of these associations also have their own administrative units. It seems likely that that a precondition for the members to accept a merger is that such structures will be carried over into the new union.

The four unions are already cooperating, and will work closely together in the preparation for the 2004 collective bargaining round.

Merger processes in LO

There are also merger discussions taking place within LO. A number of transport and service unions are considering the establishment of a single, large service sector union. The process involves unions organising in deregulated state communications enterprises such as Norwegian Rail and Norway Post, and unions within the traditional private sector (transport, hotels and restaurants, and the wholesale and retail trade). The YS-affiliated Union of Transport Company Employees (Yrkestrafikkforbundet, YTF) has also joined the process (NO0310101N). The LO unions have not yet gone as far towards merger as the YS unions discussed above, and at least one of the participating organisations - the Norwegian Union of Railway Workers (Norsk Jernbaneforbund, NJF) - is still pondering whether or not to join. The six unions have nevertheless started the deliberation process over the basis for a merger.

Negotiations with a view to merge have also been entered into between the NGF graphical workers' union and Fellesforbundet. NGF has in recent years seen a significant drop in its membership and a substantial financial deficit. An internal working group stated in autumn 2003 that NGF would suffer an annual financial deficit of NOK 10 million if nothing is done. The working group unanimously recommended that the union should start negotiations with Fellesforbundet on a possible merger. Fellesforbundet is positively inclined towards a merger, and NGF believes that it may join Fellesforbundet on 1 January 2006.

Commentary

There are different factors behind the possible trade union mergers that may take place in the coming year. Many unions emphasise that the boundaries between the different unions have become increasingly blurred in recent years as a result of reorganisation and deregulation of the public sector. This is the case in relation to both the planned merger in YS and the mooted transport/service sector merger within LO. It is further emphasised that the creation of larger organisations will enable the unions to take better care of their members’ interests and needs, not least in a situation where continuous restructuring is taking place and where increased pressure is brought to bear on established labour rights. The objective is, through larger organisations, to offer members more cost-effective and professional assistance, while at the same time being a stronger counterweight vis-à-vis the employer side. It is also evident that financial difficulties in many of the unions concerned have forced the issue onto the agenda.

The ongoing merger processes are a step in the direction of larger unions. If the merger process that is taking place within YS succeeds, the new union will become the largest in YS and the fourth-largest in Norway. The six unions involved in the service sector merger process in LO have a total of almost 140,000 members. Several mergers in recent years have already ended in the creation of large unions. The country’s largest union, the Norwegian Union for Municipal and General Employees (Fagforbundet) was established by means of a merger in summer 2003 (NO0308101N). In 2001, two teachers' organisations merged and created a new union with almost 130,000 members (NO0110105N). A merger between Fellesforbundet and NGF would also strengthen Fellesforbundet's position as Norway’s second-largest union.

A development in the direction of increasingly large unions will probably influence industrial relations in Norway. It may well have an effect on the power balance within the main union confederations. The confederal level still plays an important role in the Norwegian labour market, particularly in relation to wage settlements, but also in other kinds of relations and cooperation with the employers, as well as in relation to political influence. Traditionally, trade union confederations have had many medium-sized (and some small) member unions. Developments towards larger unions may well lead to a shift in both the balance of power and functions away from the confederal level to the individual union level, at least in some areas.

The growth of larger unions may also influence the power balance between different unions within the same confederation. It is reasonable to question whether the idea of a large service sector union within LO comes in response to the fact that LO is currently dominated by two large unions, representing the municipal/health sector and manufacturing industry respectively. The same arguments to some extent apply to YS, where several of the unions involved in the planned merger compete with much larger LO counterparts - including Norway's largest union, Fagforbundet. As such, it is reasonable to assume that more mergers will follow, in the form of either smaller unions joining larger ones, or several unions amalgamating into larger entities. (Kristine Nergaard, FAFO Institute for Applied Social Science)