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Norway

Background information on industrial relations in Norway

• 22 Dec 2008
  Norway: Proposal for gradual reduction in working time for shift work

  In October 2008, an expert committee set up by the Norwegian government put forward its proposal for the introduction of a statutory scheme providing for a gradual reduction in working hours in relation to shift work carried out at night time and on Sundays. The proposal aims to promote equality, in terms of weekly working hours, between shift work in the female-dominated healthcare sector and similar working time arrangements in the male-dominated manufacturing sector.

• 19 Dec 2008
  Norway: Norway: Temporary agency work and collective bargaining in the EU

  The level of temporary agency work has increased in Norway over the last few years, in particular since 2004 and onwards. The TWA sector has also changed considerably over the last 4-8 years, among others due to the increasing importance of agency workers from the new EU-member states, and with the abolishment of the strict occupational restrictions on temporary agency work in 2000. There has been a strong growth in TWA in sectors such as construction, manufacturing and health/social security. An important issue today is how to prevent substandard wage- and working conditions for employees from the new 2004 EU-member states.

• 11 Dec 2008
  Norway: Industrial relations in the public sector — Norway

  This report presents an overview of industrial relations in the central government and public sector in Norway.

• 02 Dec 2008
  Norway: Controversy over law on extension of collective agreements

  In October 2008, the Norwegian Tariff Board decided to extend the sectoral collective agreement in the field of engineering to cover all employees in the shipyard industry. Collective agreements can be extended in industries where foreign employees are thought to be subject to substandard wage and working conditions. The move has generated controversy among the social partners, particularly over the calculation of working time for those subject to the extension.

• 14 Oct 2008
  Norway: New obligation on employers to consult may avert company closures

  A new Norwegian Act relating to enterprise reorganisation came into force on 1 July 2008. The new legislation aims to give affected parties time to consider alternatives to closure in cases where owners want to close down companies. Employers must give notice of their intentions to the municipal authorities at least 30 days before a final decision is taken. This interval will give time to explore alternative options, including an employee takeover.

• 23 Sep 2008
  Norway: Norway: Industrial relations developments in Europe 2007

  The year 2007 proved to be yet another remarkably good year for the Norwegian economy. The 2007 collective bargaining round was an intermediate settlement, and did not generate any major industrial conflicts. Political debates as well as legislative developments have mostly been concerned with challenges related to the high number of workers and companies from Eastern Europe coming to Norway.

• 15 Sep 2008
  Norway: Statutory right to reduced working time for workers aged 62 plus

  In July 2008, all Norwegian employees were given a statutory right to reduced working hours from the age of 62 years. The intention behind the initiative is to make it easier for older workers to combine work with a pension. Furthermore, it aims to encourage more people to stay in employment after having reached the age of 62 years, which is the age limit for entitlement to an early retirement pension.

• 15 Sep 2008
  Norway: High wage growth and few disputes mark 2008 bargaining round

  The 2008 pay settlements provided the highest wage growth for Norwegian wage earners in 10 years. Moreover, few conflicts emerged in connection with the negotiations. Regarding non-pay issues, the social partner organisations managed to reach agreement, albeit with the help of the government, on a revised scheme for agreement-based early retirement. Norway is currently experiencing labour shortages but experts predict that the high wage growth will ease in 2009.

• 08 Sep 2008
  Norway: Collective agreement in public sector triggers strong wage growth

  At the end of May 2008, the social partner organisations concluded collective agreements covering different parts of Norway’s public sector. The new agreements will generate an estimated wage growth in the public sector of 6.13% at state level and 6.34% at municipal level between 2007 and 2008. In the municipalities, strike action was taken by the Confederation of Unions for Professionals; however, the dispute ended after negotiations recommenced.

• 11 Jun 2008
  Norway: Government proposes measures to facilitate labour migration

  In April 2008, the minister of labour and social inclusion presented a White Paper on labour migration. With this White Paper, the Norwegian government aims to ease labour migration to Norway from countries outside the EU and European Economic Area. The paper also opens the way for abolishing the transitional arrangements regulating the migration of citizens from the new EU Member States to Norway.

• 11 Jun 2008
  Norway: ILO rejects government’s use of compulsory arbitration to end industrial dispute

  In March 2008, the committee on freedom of association of the International Labour Organization considered a complaint by the Finance Sector Union against the Norwegian government for imposing compulsory arbitration to halt an industrial conflict in the financial services sector in 2006. The committee’s verdict was in favour of the complainant, stating that the nature and scale of the dispute did not justify the government’s use of compulsory arbitration.

• 03 Jun 2008
  Norway: Social partners agree on wage rise and early retirement conditions

  In April 2008, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions concluded agreements with the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise in the manufacturing, construction and parts of the private services sectors. The outcome of this year’s collective bargaining round in these sectors will generate a total wage growth of 5.6% for 2008. The social partners also managed to reach agreement on a revision of the agreement-based early retirement scheme – AFP.

• 19 May 2008
  Norway: EU services directive should have limited impact on labour law

  A total of six reports, published in March 2008, have assessed the impact of the European Union services directive on different areas of Norwegian society. One important conclusion from the research is that the directive will not affect the measures introduced by the government to combat social dumping in Norwegian working life. The government has yet to make a decision on whether the services directive is to be incorporated into the European Economic Area agreement.

• 19 May 2008
  Norway: Commission proposes pay rise for female-dominated occupations and extended parental leave

  The Norwegian Gender Equality Commission presented its final report in February 2008. Among its recommendations, the commission proposes reserving one third of the parental leave period for fathers. In addition, the commission is calling on the national authorities and labour market parties to consider a special pay increase for female-dominated occupational groups in the public sector. The proposals received a mixed response from the parties involved.

• 09 May 2008
  Norway: Highest wage growth in five years reported

  The latest annual report of the Norwegian Technical Calculation Committee for Wage Settlements estimates the average wage growth of Norwegian workers from 2006 to 2007 at 5.4%, compared with 4.1% in 2006. The 2007 increase in real wages is estimated at 4.5%, compared with 1.9% in the previous year. Moreover, the report highlights that the gender wage gap has decreased in most sectors, with the exception of a few.

• 17 Mar 2008
  Norway: ILO convention on labour clauses applied to municipal authorities

  As of 1 March 2008, an administrative provision implementing International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 94 on labour clauses in public contracts places an obligation on all Norwegian public authorities to include a clause regarding wages and working conditions in their tenders. Up to now, this obligation has only been applicable to the central authorities and not the public sector at municipal level.

• 10 Mar 2008
  Norway: Most companies fulfil female board representation quota

  When the transition period of the new legislation stipulating 40% female representation on company boards expired on 1 January 2008, around four out of five Norwegian companies had met the requirement. A minimum proportion of approximately 40% of both sexes must now sit on the boards of all major Norwegian companies. The rules apply to more than 500 privately-owned public limited companies in Norway, among them the largest private sector companies.

• 04 Mar 2008
  Norway: Woman wins equal pay case against the state

  The decision of the Norwegian Equality and Anti-discrimination Tribunal to reject the complaint of a female senior consultant against her employer for breaching the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, according to Norwegian law, was overruled by a court of law in November 2007. The court ruled that the decision made by the tribunal was invalid.

• 28 Jan 2008
  Norway: Telework in Norway

  Telework in Norwegian working life is predominantly regarded as a voluntary flexibility measure enabling employees to work from home. Although regulated by guidelines and to some degree collective agreements, telework has not been an item high on the social partners’ agenda. This article looks at the extent of telework in Norway and explores the steps towards aligning with the EU framework agreement on telework, concluded by the European social partners in 2002.

• 14 Jan 2008
  Norway: Expert committee to examine shift and rotation work

  In early November 2007, the Norwegian government set up an expert committee to deliberate different aspects of working time schemes involving shift and rotation work. A central question in this case is whether or not the two types of working time schemes may be regarded as equal, one of the consequences of which may be shorter working hours for female-dominated groups in the health and social care sector.

• 14 Jan 2008
  Norway: Court rules in favour of Polish workers claiming to be ordinary employees

  A Norwegian court has ruled in favour of 19 Polish construction workers who claimed they were in a standard employment relationship with a company and not engaged as self-employed workers. The ruling delivered in November 2007 awarded the workers the right to damages equalling the difference between their actual pay at the time of employment and the legally binding minimum wage, which totals about €245,000 in compensation.