Report on Convention no 87 concerning freedom of association and protection of the right to organise, 1948

NORWAY

R E P O R T

for the period ending 31 May 2004, made by the Government of Norway, in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation on the measures taken to give effect to the provisions of

Convention no. 87 concerning freedom of association and protection of the right to organise, 1948

ratification of which was registered on 4 July 1949.

I

Reference is made to previous reports.

II

Reference is made to previous reports.

Observation 2002 - Norway:

The Committee refers to Norway’s report of 2002 which described the public hearing and the subsequent bill from the Government concerning the proposals from the national committee appointed to review the system of collective bargaining and the settlement of industrial disputes. The amendments in the Labour Disputes Act came into force 1 January 2003.

As concerns compulsory arbitration, such interventions can only be adopted by law by the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget). In the report period separate acts imposing compulsory arbitration has been adopted by the Storting on three occasions, which all concerned conflicts in the health sector, namely a strike among nurses in hospitals, which lasted for 6 weeks and a few days, a nearly 3 weeks long strike among private ambulance drivers, and a 5 days long strike in nursing-homes and alarm centrals. The Norwegian Board of Health followed these conflicts closely, and the bills proposing compulsory arbitration put forward to the Storting were based on reports from the Norwegian Board of Health finding that the situation had become so serious that life and health could be endangered.

V

Reference is made to previous reports.

VI

This report will be communicated to the Social Partners in Norway.

Oslo, August 2004