The federal union has agreed with Norsk Industri in the wage negotiations. The parties agree on 19 hours of overtime.
Acting managing director Knut E. Sunde of Norsk Industri and the Federation’s leader Jørn Eggum in a meeting with national mediator Mats Wilhelm Ruland. Photo: Fredrik Solstad / VGPPublished:
7. april
Updated April 7
The parties have agreed on a salary increase which gives a total framework of 5.2 per cent salary increase. That’s what Fellesforbundet writes in a press release.
– This is a big victory, says confederation leader Jørn Eggum in Fellesforbundet.
Fellesforbundet reports that the settlement has resulted in a solid wage increase and a large-scale continuing and further education reform.
The overall limit is 5.2 per cent. This indicates an increase in purchasing power of 1.1 per cent, if the estimate of the Technical Calculation Committee for price inflation is correct. TBU has estimated price growth of 4.1 per cent this year, the union writes in the press release.
– We have agreed a high central supplement, an additional supplement for those with a low income and a particular increase for our people who work offshore. This will be a salary settlement that will be marked in the wallets of our members, says Eggum.
The Fellesforbundet also highlights this:
- Total increase in offshore allowance of NOK 11.
- Most other rates are regulated at 7.5 per cent.
- In addition, real local wage negotiations must be conducted.
- In this settlement, the travel provisions in the agreement have also been improved.
Parat continues mediation
The parties began negotiations before Easter, which did not lead to progress. The settlement then went to mediation, which started this week. The mediation deadline was midnight on the night of Sunday 7 April.
The joint union announced that 14,301 members would go on strike if no agreement was reached. Parat announced that 1,064 would be withdrawn. Parat and Norsk Industri are still negotiating.
In the front trade settlement, the LO confederation Fellesforbundet and the YS confederation Parat meet from the employee side, and the NHO association Norsk Industri from the employer side.
– We are worried
After tonight’s agreement between Norsk Industri and the Confederation, the CEO of NHO, Ole Erik Almlid, says that it is good to have an agreement in the frontline.
He also thinks it is good that another general strike is avoided, which would cost the companies and Norway dearly.
– At the same time, we would prefer to see that more of the wage growth was up to local negotiations, and we are concerned that a large central supplement will be particularly demanding for the construction industry and other industries closely linked to it.
Read on E24+
Currency strategist: Here you can get the most for the krone this summer
The requirements
Increased purchasing power has been the clear main demand from the Confederation and the workers’ side this year. Extras for those with the lowest wages as well as further and continuing education reform are other requirements.
LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik announced that they were ready to strike for a “good and solid” wage increase.
There has been no real wage growth real wage growth For workers to have more to work with, wages must rise more than prices. When wage growth is higher than price growth, you get real wage growth, or increased purchasing power. in this country for the last three years.
For its part, NHO has emphasized that there are large differences between industries, and that wage increases must be sustained if the krone strengthens. Norsk Industri has highlighted that “wage developments do not weaken the industry’s competitiveness”.
First in line
The wage settlement this year is a main settlement, which means that both wages and other parts of the collective agreement are negotiated.
In the frontline settlement, the parties meet in industry exposed to competition. This comes first in the salary settlement, and the result lays the foundation for the subsequent settlements. This will ensure that wages in Norway do not become much higher over time than at Norway’s competitors abroad.
Technical calculation committeeTechnical calculation committeeCommittee that delivers reports in connection with the salary settlement every year. The reports include an overview of wage developments, developments in the Norwegian economy and estimates for price growth before the wage settlement. (TBU) has, ahead of the settlement, estimated price growth at 4.1 per cent in 2024. This estimate is important, because it is used to calculate what kind of real wage growth the settlement will produce.
Both Norges Bank and Statistics Norway have predicted that there will be real wage growth this year.