On 17-19 November 2002, a European conference on the gender wage gap in Europe was held in Oslo, Norway. The conference was the culmination of a European comparative project entitled 'Towards a closing of the gender wage gap [1]', which has looked at wage differentials between women and men in three
The Norwegian Labour Party (Det norske Arbeiderparti, DnA) held its 59th national conference in November 2002, and one of the items on the agenda was the close relationship between the party and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO). The formal ties between
On 29 November 2002, the Minister of Health, Dagfinn Høybråten, presented a government White Paper [1] proposing a total ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. Stricter legislative measures to combat passive smoking in bars and restaurants have long been an important priority for trade unions in
In late October 2002, the government and main social partner organisations met to discuss future cooperation on incomes policy in Norway. This was the latest in series of meetings in autumn 2002 (NO0209101N [1]), as significant debate and doubts about the future direction of incomes policy have been
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) made a decision in June 2002 to rule inadmissible a complaint filed against the Norwegian government by the Norwegian Federation of Offshore Workers’ Trade Unions (Oljearbeidernes Fellessammenslutning, OFS). The OFS claimed that the Norwegian government’s
In late June 2002, the centre-right coalition government of the Conservative Party (Høyre), the Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti, KRF) and the Liberal Party (Venstre) put before the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) a proposal [1] for the relaxation of the current legislative
Following the spring 2002 wage settlement (NO0206105F [1]) and as a consequence of the continued downturn in the Norwegian economy, the government and social partners have intensified debate on the future of their cooperative venture on incomes policy that started during the 1990s (NO0109102F [2])
Norway saw its first football strike on 23 June 2002, when 203 players in the Norwegian football league's two highest divisions took strike action. The action followed unsuccessful mediation between the Norwegian Athletes Organisation (Norsk Idrettsutøveres Sentralorganisasjon, NISO), a member trade
Despite the social partners' agreement with the government in 2001 to reduce the sickness absence rate (NO0110107F [1]), recent figures from Statistics Norway (Statistisk Sentralbyrå, SSB) and the National Insurance Administration (Rikstrygdeverket) show a continued increase in sickness absence. The
On 1 July 2002, the centre-right coalition government of the Conservative Party (Høyre), the Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti, KRF), and the Liberal Party (Venstre) made public a 'plan of action against racism and ethnic discrimination', which seeks to combat racism and ethnic