On 28 November 2001, an agreement was reached between the board of the ailing Norwegian engineering and construction group Kværner and its largest shareholder, Aker Maritime, on a financial solution to save the company (NO0110106N [1]). Following intense negotiations, the board agreed to a
The Norwegian Supreme Court (Høyesterett) issued an important ruling [1] on 9 November 2001 on closed-shop arrangements in collective agreements. The Court stated that closed-shop arrangements, whereby employment is conditional upon employees' or job applicants' trade union affiliation, are in
Recent figures from the Statistics Norway (Statistisk Sentralbyrå, SSB) show that labour market participation among 'non-western' immigrants (ie those from outside Europe and North America) in Norway is still low, and there are indications to suggest that this is very much due to a general
On 23 October 2001, the Norwegian Competition Authority (Konkurransetilsynet) approved the offer by Scandinavia Airline Systems (SAS) to take over the troubled Norwegian airline Braathens ASA (NO0106134N [1]). The decision followed an earlier rejection of the bid by the Competition Authority in a
A new centre-right government took office on 19 October 2001. It is a coalition of the Conservative Party (Høyre), the Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti, KRF) and the Liberal Party (Venstre), and succeeds the previous Labour Party (Det norske Arbeiderparti, DnA) government, which in
The Norwegian-owned engineering and construction group, Kværner, is in severe financial difficulties, and the future looks bleak for a large number of workers both in Norway and worldwide. It has for some time been common knowledge that Kværner is struggling, but the revelations bringing to public
An agreement [1] laying down personnel guidelines to be applied during reorganisation in the state sector has been negotiated by the government and the main trade union organisations in the sector. The agreement was made public on 5 September 2001. The social partners in the sector have agreed on a
The report of a public committee deliberating the financing of employees' subsistence during educational leave was made public on 15 August 2001. The committee, chaired by Sigbjørn Johnsen, was set up at the request of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) and
On 1 January 2002, the ownership of public hospitals in Norway will be transferred from the local government level (mainly county municipalities) to the state. The hospitals will be organised as subsidiaries under the control of one of five regional public enterprises that will also be established
On 1 July 2001, the general prohibition against discrimination in recruitment and selection provided by the Act Relating to Workers' Protection and Working Environment (AML, §55A) was extended also to cover people with disabilities. The result is that it is no longer possible to show prejudice to