The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 88/00

Date: 9 May 2000

STRIKE OVER! (Aftenposten)

With little more than two hours left until a scheduled escalation would have involved over 100,000 workers in the largest industrial conflict in years, Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) negotiators recommended the state mediator’s settlement proposal. European carmakers, Norwegian ferry passengers and thirsty pub guests may now breathe a sigh of relief. The massive walkout came to an end last night. The LO met with the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) yesterday afternoon after having published its demands earlier in the day—2 per hour for all and 4 kroner for lowest income groups. The fifth week of holiday is also to be implemented on a faster schedule, and the LO wants a pledge from employers to put up more money for further education. LO members will be able to take an additional two days of holiday next year and another two days in 2002. The general pay raise is doubled. After rejecting the initial offer of NOK 0.745 per hour (around 9 cents US), they have now won NOK 1.50. Workers in segments where average pay is less than NOK 210,000 will receive an additional 2 kroner, making for a total hourly raise of NOK 3.50 per hour. The new pact has a duration of two years. The settlement that was rejected had no raise scheduled for next year, but union members will now receive 1 krone across the board.

GOVERNMENT PLEASED (NTB)

The Government is pleased that the strike is now over, but Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg contemplates the challenge of keeping wage inflation in Norway down. I am glad a settlement has now been agreed upon and that the strike is over. This is good for the Norwegian economy and for Norwegian society, said Mr. Stoltenberg to the NRK newsroom. Mr. Stoltenberg had informed the unions and employers that the Government would study a scheme of daily benefits to be made available to persons taking further or ongoing education.

AUTO PARTS INDUSTRY CLAIMS SUCCESS (Dagsavisen)

Industrial leaders in Norway’s auto parts industry believe it was their pressure that induced the LO and the NHO to resume negotiations yesterday. Since the NHO now seems to have yielded on important issues, one may now wonder whether the conflict was a waste of time for the employers. Parts industry managers were hard at work last night preparing for production. Management and employees alike had argued intensely for several days for an end to the strike, and are convinced that their urging helped get things going again. The strike had threatened to bring a number of European carmakers’ production lines to a halt.

SETTLEMENT WILL COST ADDITIONAL NOK 1.1 B (Aftenposten interaktiv)

Figures presented by Aftenposten interaktiv show that the mediated settlement proposal expands the framework for raises this year by 1.3 percentage points to 5.3 per cent. The framework of the settlement first rejected was around 4 per cent for 2000. The bottom line figure for this year’s labour settlement may thus end up NOK 1.1 billion higher, including pay increases and higher payroll taxes. The heaviest element of the new settlement is the general hourly pay raise from 75 øre to 2 kroner.

STRIKE IN PUBLIC SECTOR LOOMS (Nationen)

Now that LO union members have gained their raises, teachers and nurses expect the same. After resuming negotiations, the LO managed to double the 75 øre originally offered, and which reduces the chances for a settlement in the public sector. The increase achieved by the LO will raise the expectations of our opponents, but the municipalities don’t have the money to meet demands on this order, said Jan Andersen-Gott, director of the Norwegian Association of Local Authorities (KS), before the outcome of the LO-NHO negotiations was announced. The appetites of professional groups are not likely to be reduced if LO members get raises, says Anders Folkestad, senior negotiator for the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (AF). Closing date for mediation is 25 May. If agreement is not reached before then, teachers, nurses, psychologists and other public sector workers could walk off the job the following day.

NEWSPAPERS GEARING UP (NTB)

Dagbladet worked under pressure during the wee hours of the morning in order to have today’s issue out by 12–1 o’clock, according to the NRK newsroom. Verdens Gang will not appear today, but Aftenposten’s afternoon edition will. Haugesunds Avis, Stavanger Aftenblad and Fædrelandsvennen (Kristiansand) will all come out this afternoon.

WORTH NOTING

• My gut feeling is that we will recommend this settlement proposal if we are able to discuss flexible working hours, says Egil Mongstad, president of the Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions. Mr. Mongstad was one of the LO’s most vocal opponents of the original recommended proposal, but he was reasonably satisfied this morning. (NTB)
• The Government is about to discard the plans for a Holocaust Centre in Villa Grande, the house where Vidkun Quisling lived during the Second World War. The Bondevik Government had not completed its plans for the Holocaust and Genocide Centre due to funding difficulties. The Labour Government takes the view that a government-funded Holocaust Centre is too expensive, and proposes to sell the villa instead. (Vårt Land)
• Responsibility for coordinating Norwegian research will not be transferred to Minister of Trade and Industry Grete Knudsen, but will remain within the purview of Minister of Education, Research and Church Affairs Trond Giske. Responsibility for the administration of the Norwegian Research Council will also remain under Mr. Giske, who in addition will lead the Government’s research committee. (Dagsavisen)
• As strike leader, Yngve Hågen voiced criticism of the golden parachutes enjoyed by corporate executives, but he has got quite a handsome package in store himself. If he lives until the age of 80, his total severance and retirement pay from the LO will amount to over NOK 7 million, according to the TV2 newsroom. (NTB)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Vårt Land

One hundred thousand strikers make for a major labour conflict in our tiny country, and many were those who welcomed the news that labour and employers will sit down together again with state mediator Reidar Webster to resolve the conflict. After a strike, it is worthwhile to ponder the financial and psychological costs of a major industrial conflict. Most of the people involved take things fairly easy in the beginning, but not many hours pass before the gravity of the situation starts weighing everyone down. Employers and workers alike start worrying whether business will be as usual afterwards. Will suppliers drop them? Will competitors get an edge on them? A strike has a major impact on a company’s finances, and for workers, payments from strike reserves cannot match normal wages, no matter how low they are. Many are starting to question whether the strike is the most effective way to put force behind one’s demands in the 21st century. Seldom does the expression cracking a nut with a sledgehammer fit better, but what’s the alternative? If wage negotiations are to have any meaning at all, there must be consequences when they break down, and a strike is a reaction hurts. It was brought into play this time, unfortunately, but it is to be hoped that the long-term effects will be good for everyone.