The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions held its third national convention in September 1999, and at the top of the agenda was the issue of international coordination of collective bargaining. The federation has already taken the first steps towards a Nordic coordination of bargaining.
The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions (Fellesforbundet) held its third national convention on 18-23 September 1999. Fellesforbundet is Norway's second largest trade union, with nearly 160,000 members in the metalworking, building, paper, agricultural and textiles industries. At the top of the agenda was the issue of international coordination of collective bargaining, with an emphasis on European coordination (TN9907201S).
In his introductory speech, the visiting general secretary of the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF), Richard Kuhlmann, argued that the trade unions of Europe must rethink their collective bargaining strategies, in face of closer European integration, with specific reference to the introduction of a common European currency, the euro. Wage policy has become the most important means by which the Member States of the EU may effect and regulate their competitiveness vis-à-vis the other states, and thus in order to prevent so-called "social dumping", trade unions in Europe must meet these new challenges by coordinating their wage strategies (DE9812283F). The leader of Fellesforbundet, Kjell Bjørndalen, followed this up by arguing that the continuing coordination of collective bargaining at increasingly higher levels has been an intrinsic element of the development of Norwegian industrial relations, since the first nationwide collective agreement was concluded in the beginning of the 20th century.
The representatives at the convention approved the proposal for a revised political platform for Fellesforbundet, in which a statement is included concerning the coordination of collective bargaining at a European level. It stipulates that closer integration in the EU necessitates coordination of bargaining among European trade unions, in order to prevent social dumping, to safeguard minimum standards, and, in the case of Norway, to ensure that work pursued within the borders of Norway are subject to provisions in national collective agreements. Mr Bjørndalen argued that European minimum standard agreements are already in operation, referring to agreements on issues such as parental leave (TN9801201S) and fixed-term contracts (EU9905170F), which have not had important consequences for the Norwegian legal framework and trade unions. He stressed, however, that more important issues, from a Norwegian point of view, may be put on the agenda in the future, and thus it is important for Norwegian unions to participate in social dialogue at the European level.
Fellesforbundet has already taken the first steps in the direction of a Nordic coordination of collective bargaining, by inviting representatives from the metalworkers' unions in the Nordic countries to participate as observers in the run-up to the spring 2000 wage settlements. The representatives will observe the preparatory work on the articulation of demands prior to the negotiations, and the long-term objective is to coordinate demands across national boundaries in most areas of collective bargaining.