Valla: Unique wage agreement (Dagens Næringsliv)

The agreement with the Government on wage rises is unique, according to Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). In return for her support she is expecting additional measures to help the unemployed and an increase in the tax deduction allowable for union dues. “I do not like the word moderation,” she said. Yesterday Ms Valla signed to say that she wanted to keep wage rises down this year. But getting her to talk about moderation, or the fact that local authority and hospital staff could end up with no wage rises at all, was difficult. She would much rather talk about the agreement, which she described as unique. “It has never happened before that prior to the start of wage negotiations a government has come up with promises for specific measures,” she said.

Unions frightened into wage moderation (Dagsavisen)

Rising unemployment and the fear that manufacturing industry will relocate abroad has made the demand for wage moderation less unpalatable for the union movement. With a smile on their lips they agreed to back the Government’s plan for bringing down interest rates. Employers and unions reached agreement surprisingly quickly when they met to discuss this year’s wage settlement with Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik yesterday. But regardless of the reason, it looks as though Mr Bondevik has succeeded in his strategy to keep this year’s round of wage negotiations on track.

Richer despite minimal wage rises (Aftenposten)

Yesterday’s 0.5 percentage point cut in interest rates – and additional cuts up ahead – will pay the electricity bill and more. Most people will have more money to spend, despite the fact that this year’s round of wage negotiations will probably not result in any salary increase. Pensioners will not fare so well. They will have to find the cash to pay their electricity bills, while the money they have on deposit with the banks will yield lower interest returns.

Union boss warns of trouble if executive pay rises too much (Dagbladet)

Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), will not put up with private company executives awarding themselves bigger pay rises than other employees. “Executives should stick within the same framework as the rest of business sector. Our members have said no to unilateral moderation. If executives do not follow up their side of the bargain, we have mechanisms to put a stop to it,” said Ms Valla.

Giske not calling for creation of anti-EU lobby within Labour Party (Aftenposten)

Trond Giske feels it is very unlikely that a new application to join the EU will be sent prior to the 2005 general election, because it would put the election completely in the shade. Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that it might be possible to send an application for EU membership before the 2005 election. At the last EU referendum in 1994, Trond Giske was one of Labour’s most highly profiled opponents of EU membership. “I think it is highly unlikely that anyone in the Labour Party or any of the other parties believes it would be opportune to start a battle over EU membership in a year in which the battle to determine the composition of the Storting is the overriding issue. I think a lot of people would agree with me, regardless of whether they support EU membership or not,” he said.

Call for generosity towards EU (Verdens Gang)

The leaders of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) have warned the Government not to be penny-pinching in their negotiations with the EU on a new EEA Agreement. “My personal opinion is that we should be generous, particularly because this money will go towards levelling the economic playing field for the poor countries of eastern Europe,” said LO president Gerd-Liv Valla. The EU has demanded a dramatic increase in the size of Norway’s EEA contribution, from NOK 200 million to NOK 3.5 billion. Norway’s “offer” is thought to be just less than NOK 300 million.

Housing market could see price hike (Dagsavisen)

Yesterday’s cut in interest rates could lead to renewed growth in house prices, according to some experts. The Norwegian Houseowners’ Association is expecting more people to turn up to view property advertised for sale this weekend. The Norwegian Central Bank has indicated the possibility of further cuts in interest rates. Financial analysts disagree about the timing of the next cut – and how far down interest rates will go.

200,000 firearms could be confiscated (Nationen)

Only around half of all registered hunters have been hunting in recent years, which means that 200,000 hunting weapons are lying about unused in Norwegian homes. If the regulations are tightened up, these weapons could be confiscated, and the risk of whole families being gunned down would be significantly reduced. The Norwegian Association of Hunters and Anglers is backing a crackdown, but says that people should be allowed to keep their firearms for up to ten years, even if they have not been hunting.

New Nato leader? (Dagsavisen)

Neither Socialist Left Party leader Kristin Halvorsen nor Centre Party leader Odd Roger Enoksen thinks that Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold’s catalogue of errors weakens her chances of becoming Nato’s new General Secretary. According to the Reuters news agency, Ms Devold is one of several names being speculated about to take over as Nato General Secretary when Britain’s George Robertson steps down in December. Ms Devold’s name has not been formally put forward by Norway.

DnB customers angriest in Nordic region (Aftenposten)

Norwegian banks have the most dissatisfied private customers in the Nordic region. And worst of the worse is Den norske Bank (DnB). This bank has the most complaints against it, and gets the thumbs down for its complaints handling procedures. “We have the broadest product portfolio and have branches nationwide. When you are that widespread, the negative sides also become more visible. But we take this kind of signal from our customers seriously, and are working very hard to improve customer satisfaction in the various regions,” said DnB’s head of corporate communications Tore Dyrdahl.

Worth Noting

• According to Gry Larsen, leader of the Labour Party’s youth wing, AUF, the most important thing for Labour in 2005 is to win the general election. She believes that the issue of EU membership will steal resources from the election campaign. “An EU referendum before 2005 would be extremely unwise. Discussing Europe is alright, I just wish it could happen without the question of a referendum coming up,” she said.
  (Aftenposten)
• Foreign Minister Jan Petersen has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the post of Nato General Secretary. However, he has denied that he is in the running.
  (Dagbladet)
• “A UN mandate is necessary, but not a sufficient premise for Norway’s support for a military action against Iraq,” said Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. Yesterday, Germany declared itself firmly against such a war. Mr Bondevik is not ruling out the possibility of Norway doing the same.
  (Vårt Land)
• While Germany has categorically refused to participate in a US-led offensive against Iraq, the Progress Party and the Conservative Party have said Norwegian soldiers and equipment could be sent if the UN Security Council gives the go-ahead for war. “If Norway backs a UN Security Council resolution and we are asked… Well, if we have said yes to one thing, we would have to say yes to the other,” said Oddvar Nilsen, leader of the Conservative Party’s parliamentary group.
  (Nationen)
• Development Cooperation Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson has said she wants to restrict the number of South African organizations receiving Norwegian foreign aid in order to ensure that Norway’s donations are used as effectively as possible. She underlined that the Ministry already knows exactly where the money is going, but said that it is very difficult to gauge its impact.
  (Aftenposten)
• For the first time LO president Gerd-Liv Valla has warned that this winter’s electricity price hikes could be a factor in this year’s wage negotiations. According to Ms Valla, wage demands prompted by the sharp increase in electricity prices could come up independently of the recent agreement between the Government, unions and employers to keep wage rises to a minimum this year.
  (Verdens Gang)
• The metrics employed by the researchers who have been brought in to investigate the impact of Norwegian retail spending in Sweden on Norway’s economy are controversial. For this reason, the Federation of Norwegian Commercial and Service Enterprises (HSH) feels it is strange that the Finance Ministry has hired them for the job. According to recent figures, Norwegian consumers’ retail spending in Sweden amounted to NOK 8.3 last year.
  (Aftenposten)
• The Justice Ministry has given the go-ahead for Norwegian police officers to use pepper spray against those resisting arrest. Amnesty International has confirmed that this type of organic spray has not killed anyone or resulted in permanent damage. According to the Police Directorate, all those who are to use the pepper spray will undergo special training.
  (Aftenposten)
• Hydro Aluminium Automotive has signed a contract with the British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin for the development and production of the aluminium frame for another of the carmaker’s models. The contract could be worth a total of well over NOK 2 billion if sales of the new sports car reach target levels.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)

Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg has indicated that the party’s policy will be to send an application for Norway to join the EU in 2004/2005. In so doing, he has placed the Labour Party back in the driving seat of Norwegian politics. Mr Stoltenberg’s comments on EU membership will dominate the political debate at home in the time ahead, and could lead to the dissolution of the Bondevik-led coalition government before the 2005 general election. With a national party conference resolution opening the way for an application for EU membership, and recent poll figures showing a significant majority of voters in favour of joining, Mr Stoltenberg has most of what he needs to force the pace on the issue. The Labour leader still has a significant number of people within the party who oppose membership, but time is obviously working in favour of those who support it. For this reason, opposition in his own ranks should not hamper Mr Stoltenberg’s EU strategy. For the moment the Labour Party will have the domestic EU arena more or less to itself. As long as the pro-European Conservatives are shackled by the “suicide pact” they entered into with the Christian Democrats and Liberals when they took government office together – to the effect that the Government would be dissolved the minute the issue of EU membership raised its head – they will not be pushing hard for Norway to join. Labour will be in the driving seat. It is certainly true that the Labour leader caught most people off guard by addressing the issue so soon. Not least on the political right, for whom the situation would become fairly chaotic if the Conservatives invoke the ruling coalition’s “suicide pact” and precipitate a change of government. If that were to happen the political map of Norway would have to be redrawn. The current one will not do as we move towards EU membership.