The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 83/00

Date: 2 May 2000

HÅGENSEN’S BIGGEST FLOP (Dagsavisen-Saturday)

Never before in Yngve Hågensen’s 11-year period as president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) has there been greater disagreement between him and the rank-and-file. Two out of three union members voted against the mediated settlement he recommended, leading to his greatest defeat and sparking the biggest labour conflict since 1986. Eleven years ago, union members voted against the first labour settlement negotiated by Mr. Hågensen, and now they have voted down his last settlement. And on Wednesday 3 May, 81,500 LO members will go on strike.

ESCALATION RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER (Aftenposten)

LO boss Yngve Hågensen will be announcing an escalation within a few days after the strike begins. The LO secretariat will meet today to discuss when and how to expand the strike, as well as to define the demands to be given priority in a new wage agreement. The massive strike looming over the country figured strongly in May Day speeches around the country. Attendance at the traditional labour day rallies was the highest in years, and many banner slogans denounced the settlement proposal. Many speakers also spoke out against the recent surge in corporate executive pay levels and the culture of greed.

NHO SIGNALS CONCESSIONS ON HOLIDAY (Verdens Gang-Sunday)

Central officials in the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) are willing to consider implementing the fifth week of holiday this year in order to forestall the impending major strike. NHO Director General Finn Bergesen jr. would neither confirm nor deny this yesterday. I decline to comment. If I have anything to add to the negotiations, I will communicate with Yngve Hågensen directly, not through the press, he said.

NHO WANTS TO END BALLOT REFERENDUM (Dagens Næringsliv)

The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) wants to do away with the practice of putting wage pacts to a ballot referendum. NHO vice president Lars Christian Berge takes the view that acceptance or rejection of settlement proposals should be a matter for the LO’s representative bodies to decide. Norway and Denmark are the only countries where labour agreements go to a general ballot.

GREEDY CORPORATE EXECUTIVES TO BLAME (Dagbladet-Saturday)

Top-ranking corporate executives must take a great deal of the blame for this strike. Exorbitant pay increases and gilt-edged severance agreements have provoked thousands of workers to vote against the settlement proposal. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is also critical of senior executive pay levels. Sharp rises in executive pay have made it more difficult to achieve acceptance (for the settlement), he concludes.

FOOD SHORTAGES WILL TRIGGER COMPULSORY ARBITRATION (Verdens Gang)

Food shortages are a health hazard, says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. This is a clear signal that empty store shelves will lead to compulsory arbitration. Mr. Stoltenberg is kept continually updated on every facet of the labour conflict. He will not urge people not to stockpile food—he says that is up to each individual to decide.

AIRPORT EXPRESS 82 PER CENT MORE EXPENSIVE TO RUN (Aftenposten)

The Gardermoen airport express train’s operating expenses are nearly twice the figure presented to the Storting when the legislators voted on the project. Storting Proposition 90 (1992-92) puts operating costs at NOK 230 million per year, but NOK 418 million is the actual figure for this year. There are several reasons for this huge discrepancy, among which are maintenance costs being higher than expected. The IT systems, too, are more expensive to run, and they are probably more advanced than necessary. Groundwater seepage into the Romerike tunnel has also added to the overall costs.

WORTH NOTING

• Yngve Hågensen believes the vote against the negotiated settlement proposal is a protest against what union members view as a contemptible corporate cultural tendency rather than a rejection of the moderation line. Mr. Hågensen is not interested in any contact with the employer organization until it offers something better than what was rejected. (Aftenposten-Sunday)
• A growing culture of greed in Norwegian society drew massive fire at this year’s May Day rallies. LO president Yngve Hågensen admits that he underestimated the storm of discontent among the rank-and-file. (Dagsavisen)
• Many people were buying extra quantities of staples such as bread and flour—but also wine—on Saturday. (Dagsavisen)
• Store shelves are cleared of a number of foodstuffs in a matter of hours, but to no purpose. Supplies of most food products will be unaffected by the massive nationwide strike, at least until it is expanded into new areas. (Dagbladet)
• Hotels, ferries, and newspapers and periodicals all over the country will be affected by the strike starting on 3 May. All cinemas in Oslo will also be affected. (Dagsavisen-Saturday)
• It is now the NHO’s play, and they had better come up with something more to offer, said Yngve Hågensen at yesterday’s May Day rally at Oslo’s Youngstorvet plaza (where LO and Labour Party headquarters are located). He gave no clear signals, however, as to what would be necessary to avert a strike. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• NHO Director General Finn Bergesen jr. says the NHO is willing to accept changes in the wage package rejected by union members. This could be the first step towards a resolution of the conflict. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The Government is prepared to allocate NOK 7.4 billion to cancelling the Gardermoen airport express’s debt. An additional NOK 1.1 billion loan has also been proposed. (Dagsavisen-Saturday)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagsavisen

What does the LO expect to achieve by going on strike tomorrow? Judging by the prevailing mood at Youngstorvet yesterday, the vote against the settlement package was also a vote against Yngve Hågensen’s moderation line. Slogans like End the limits! and No more moderation! blazed their defiance, indicating that the underpinnings of the past decade’s income policy are crumbling away. For Mr. Hågensen, always an advocate of moderation, the signals from union members must be unpleasant. As he pointed out in his May Day speech yesterday, the LO’s wage policy has always been based on collective responsibility, and moderate wage settlements have helped maintain employment and real wage growth. But this year’s rejection of the negotiated settlement is a rejection of one-sided moderation. The gap between the grass-roots outcry for less moderation and the LO’s concept of collective responsibility is difficult to handle, but the LO must not fail to inform the population of the specific goals of its strike. 80,000 striking workers will have an impact on every aspect of Norwegian society, and if they expect to enjoy general support, they must make their goals known.