Over 24,000 Norwegian workers to strike after talks fail

OSLO

More than 24,000 workers in Norway will go on strike after wage negotiations broke down with employers, two major unions announced on April 16.    

The strike action, which began yesterday, will cut across several industries, including construction, transport, manufacturing and hotels in the capital Oslo.    

Talks between two umbrella organisations - the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) - and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) had been ongoing since April 14.   

But on April 16, LO and YS rejected a draft proposal drawn up by a national mediator.    

“We didn’t think that which was offered by NHO and finally was in the draft by the national mediator was good enough for us to accept it,” LO leader Peggy Hessen Folsvik told reporters.    

The strike would begin from 6:00 am yesterday, she added, saying it was the first time in more than 20 years that LO had taken industrial action.   

According to media reports, LO had demanded a five-percent increase in purchasing power for its members.

“Norway should not have had to deal with this strike. NHO has been solution-orientated and negotiated constructively, but the other side did not meet us halfway,” NHO chief Ole Erik Almlid said in a statement.

LO - which represents some 970,000 members - said in a statement that its main goals in the negotiations had been “to ensure increased purchasing power, counteract low pay and prioritise equal pay”.    

It said that 22,947 members would strike, while YS said 1,441 of its members would do so.