Journalists return to work (vg.no)

Over 3,000 striking journalists returned to work today, following an agreement last night between the Norwegian Union of Journalists (NJ) and the Newspaper Publishers’ Association (MBL). The main bone of contention has been the journalists’ demand for more holiday. The deal means that all journalists will receive five weeks’ holiday from this year – which the two sides had agreed on all along. In addition, an extra five days’ holiday will be phased in during this year and next. The scheme is designed in such a way that those with 18 years in the profession will get an extra three days’ holiday with full pay, with effect from this year, while all those with 15 years in the profession will get two days’ extra holiday with full pay from next year. The full week’s extra holiday is therefore restricted to those with more than 18 years’ experience in the profession. Over half of the NJ’s members will be entitled to six weeks’ holiday from next year.

Journalists’ agreement described as "feeble" (Nettavisen)

The agreement which brought the journalists’ strike to an end has been described as "feeble" by Ola Henning Målsnes, senior union representative at Bergensavisen. "If the central committee approves this deal, we look forward to the next national conference," he said to the journalist’s own newspaper, Journalisten, reports NTB. Other journalists that Journalisten has spoken to were also dissatisfied with the result after nine days of strike.

Media bosses say newspapers are overstaffed (dn.no)

Norwegian newspaper bosses believe their papers are overstaffed, according to a survey carried out by the Centre for Media Economics at the Norwegian School of Management (BI). The survey shows that many Norwegian newspapers – particularly the largest ones – are both overstaffed and over-administered. The survey, quoted in today’s edition of propaganda.no, shows that 85 per cent of the costs incurred by Norwegian daily newspapers are related to salaries and administration. 1,110 senior executives from Norwegian newspapers were interviewed in connection with the survey, entitled: "The future of daily newspapers – a study of the market situation and future prospects for the daily newspaper sector". The media bosses largely agree that continued state financial support for the newspaper industry is necessary, but a minority is highly critical of the scheme and says it must be modified.

Stoltenberg: Government doing nothing (dagbladet.no)

"The Government is doing nothing about interest rates," says in-coming Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg. He is proposing cuts of at least NOK 600 million in the revised national budget, and would like to swing the axe even harder if he could. Labour’s proposed cuts corresponds to a little over a tenth of one per cent of total public expenditure, but Mr Stoltenberg believes they could lead to a cut in interest rates. He would not rule out his party’s support for additional cuts, and is currently studying the compromise deal between the Government and the Progress Party to see if he can find anything there he likes. "But we must remember that it is not only increased public spending which affects interest rates. Tax cuts also contribute to higher interest rates," said Mr Stoltenberg. "The Government is on auto-pilot. The rules governing how much of Norway’s oil revenues can be spent in the domestic economy only apply under normal economic conditions. But that is not the case now. Interest rates are at record levels. They are twice as high as in our neighbouring countries. There is a very real possibility that Norway will stay at this level with the Government’s budget policies – or see interest rates go even higher," said Mr Stoltenberg.

NHO applause for Stoltenberg’s proposed budget cuts (Dagsavisen)

News that the Labour Party wants the revised national budget tightened up to the tune of NOK 600 million, has made the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) extremely happy. "This is an important signal that the Labour Party is taking seriously the problems experienced by companies facing foreign competition," said Finn Bergesen Jr, chief executive of the NHO. He is also pleased with Labour’s proposals to increase depreciation rates for plant and equipment, and give additional funding to companies which provide educational opportunities for their employees. "These proposals indicate that this autumn there could be a parliamentary majority in favour of making it easier to run a business. And about time too. The record strong krone and hefty wage rises are putting industrial jobs at risk," said Mr Bergesen.

Christian Democrats cut development assistance (Nettavisen)

The Christian Democratic Party has come under withering fire from its own youth wing because the Government’s budget deal with the Progress Party means an almost NOK 40 million cut in Norway’s development assistance budget. "It is sad that the governing coalition parties have not managed to protect foreign aid in their negotiations with the Progress Party," said Kathrine Tallaksen Bjelland, deputy leader of the Christian Democrats’ youth wing. The party’s young guns were left to take some measure of comfort from the fact that the cut’s real impact on recipient countries will be lessened by the strength of the Norwegian krone.

Red Cross chief disappointed over Government (Nettavisen)

Jan Egeland, General Secretary of the Norwegian Red Cross, has condemned the Government’s decision to accept an almost NOK 40 million cut in Norway’s development assistance budget as part of its compromise deal with the Progress Party over the revised national budget. Of cuts totalling NOK 49 million which the Government and the Progress Party have agreed on, almost NOK 11 million has been taken from funds intended for the deportation of refugees. Jan Egeland claims the revised national budget is meant to cover unmet needs. "When the needs increase, so should our foreign aid budget. We should certainly not be cutting it. At the start of the 1990s we spent over one per cent of GDP on development assistance. Now we have fallen under one per cent. This is not good news for the world’s poor," said Mr Egeland.

Norway invests NOK 1 billion in fighter development project (Klassekampen)

The Government is to invest NOK 1 billion in the development of the US Joint Strike Fighter aircraft (JSF). Among the Government’s objectives is to include Norwegian industry in the project – but industry itself is sceptical. "We expect Norwegian industry to be strongly placed in the competition for supply contracts in connection with construction of the aircraft," said Martin Lohne, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence. Mr Lohne claims that the main reason for participating in the development of the aircraft is to gain an insight into the process and because Norway’s military leaders see the JSF as the most interesting alternative as an eventual replacement for today’s F-16 fighter planes. However, Ståle Ulriksen, a researcher with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), believes the decision is politically motivated. "Norway always aligns itself closely with the USA. It is an overarching factor in Norwegian defence policy," said Mr Ulriksen.

Worth Noting

• MPs from all parties failed yesterday to reach an agreement on a cut in the cost of pre-school day care and the construction of new nursery places. It therefore looks as though the Progress Party, Socialist Left Party and the Labour Party will force the Government to introduce a price cap. (dagbladet.no)
• Around 10,000 workers from the whole Nordic region have used the internet to signal their interest in working on the Snow White gas field off the coast of Hammerfest. They have been tempted by a compensation package including NOK 500,000 per year in salary, and a shift pattern made up of twelve days on and nine days off. (dn.no)
• In its proposal for the revised national budget the Government has announced plans to review today’s scheme under which government employees have access to cheap loans. Members of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund pay only 6.5 per cent interest on mortgages of up to NOK 750,000. The high street banks currently charge at least 7.5 per cent. (Nettavisen)
• Accidents, injuries and strains incurred at work cost Norway a dizzying NOK 65 billion each year, according to recent figures from the Directorate of Labour Inspection. A new trend is that increasing numbers of young career women are forced to take sick leave because they are ‘burned out’. (Dagsavisen)
• Statoil has awarded the contract to build the bulk of the planned LNG plant at Melkøya to the German industrial group, Linde. The contract is worth NOK 1.3 billion. This is a clear demonstration of the company’s confidence that the Snow White project will not be subject to any further delays. (Klassekampen)
• The insurance company, If, is to raise its premiums by around 20 per cent, fire 200 people and save NOK 120 million on its IT operations. The measures are chief executive Torbjörn Magnusson’s first steps towards putting the troubled company back on its feet again. (dn.no)
• KLP, the company which manages a large proportion of the pension funds paid in by local government workers, needs several billion kroner in fresh capital over the next four years. The company is now considering whether to privatize itself in order to apply for a listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Another alternative is to demand that the country’s local authorities stump up the cash to cover KLP’s shortfall. (Nationen)
• At the start of the year 84,000 refugees were living in Norway, an increase of 6,900 people, or almost nine per cent, compared with the year before. Well over half – almost 4,000 – of the new arrivals last year came from Iraq. But even though the influx of people from the Middle East last year was large, the majority of refugees living in Norway still come from Bosnia or the former Yugoslavia. (Nationen)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

Well, now we’ve seen this, too. An opposition Labour Party which is worried that a Conservative/Christian Democratic/Liberal government is not pursuing a tight enough fiscal policy in the revised national budget. Labour wants to cut the budget by NOK 600 million to secure lower interest rates. We appreciate the party’s fiscal prudence, but will the voters? Maybe the Labour Party should change its name to the Savings Party?