Vol.64/No.19 May 15, 2000
Workers in Norway reject contract; 80,000 walk out
BY CARL-ERIK ISACSONSTOCKHOLM, Sweden—Some 80,000 workers in Norway set May 3 as the beginning of an indefinite nationwide strike. The decision follows the rejection by workers in the LO national union federation of a wage settlement negotiated with the employers federation.
Officials in most of the 18 unions involved in the contract negotiations had campaigned for a "yes" vote, but the 300,000 workers covered by the proposed agreement voted it down by more than 64 percent. Among hotel and transport workers, some 80 percent voted "no."
In the proposed three-year contract, the employers agreed to grant workers a fifth week of paid vacation starting in 2002, comprising one day already granted, another day next year, and the balance of three days the following year. They also proposed a wage increase of 0.75 krona an hour each year, with an additional 1.25 krona an hour for those with the lowest pay rates (1 krona =US 11 cents).
The agreement was unpopular on a number of counts. Workers insist on receiving the fifth week of vacation immediately. Many consider that the wage offer is low compared with what workers have won through strike action, especially the walkouts two years ago by transport and hospital workers. Unionists also favor a contract that runs for a shorter term than the proposed three years.
The strike involves, among others, 43,000 factory workers and 16,000 construction workers, organized in the same "Fellesforbundet" union; more than 6,000 food workers; 5,000 members of the chemical workers union; and around 2,500 members of both the hotel workers and transport workers unions.
The strike is expected to have a wide impact. Iron ore transports by train from the mines in northern Sweden to the Narvik harbor will be affected. As imports of auto parts produced in Norway for Swedish vehicle manufacturers dry up, production in Volvo, Saab, and Scania plants in Sweden could be crippled within a week or two.
These kinds of flow-on effects mean the confrontation contains the potential to escalate. Employers are likely to suspend workers as production comes to a standstill as a result of the strike.
The Norwegian government has extraordinary powers to settle strikes by compulsory arbitration, when they claim that threats to human life or the country's "vital interests" are involved. Workers in hospitals and the oil industry, who have been targeted many times by these laws, will not be part of the May 3 action.
As it became apparent that the strike would become a reality, the Norwegian krone hit a 15-year low against the U.S. dollar, as the central bank raised interest rates.
Carl-Erik Isacsson is a member of the metal workers union in Södertälje, Sweden.