Norway’s biggest union representing teachers, Utdanningsforbundet, has lost at least 500 members since it opted to controversially go along with a labour settlement that called for teachers to spend at least 7.5 hours a day at the schools where they work. The teachers overwhelmingly rejected the pact, and clearly are angry with their union. The […]
Royal debate rages as teachers strike
June 26, 2014
NEWS ANALYSIS: As angry and demoralized Norwegian teachers voted to go on strike this week, debate continues to fly over the crown couple’s decision last week to pull their own two royal children out of their local public school. Some claim the royal family has contributed to a “devaluation” of Norwegian public schools, while teachers feel they’re being […]
Teachers vote to go on strike
June 25, 2014
UPDATED: Norwegian public schools look set for labour trouble when they’re due to reopen after the summer holidays that began this week. Tens of thousands of angry teachers nationwide have voted against accepting their union’s labour agreement with the public sector, and instead have called for a strike before classes resume in August. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported […]
Teachers chalk up a protest
June 2, 2014
Teachers angry about the employment settlement agreed to by unions last week took the chalk out of the classroom and into the schoolyard on Monday. Several hundred teachers wrote “nei” (no) in large letters outside schools, have vowed to reject the agreement when it goes to a vote this month, and threatened strike action when […]
Strike threatened at Vinmonopolet
June 2, 2014
Workers at Norway’s state-run liquor chain Vinmonopolet have threatened to go on strike in response to a government proposal to open the stores during some holiday periods. As they headed into collective bargaining negotiations on Monday, staff said they would not give away extra holidays written into their agreement including Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, Easter Saturday, Whitsund […]
No strike after Oslo workers settle
May 27, 2014
Oslo municipal workers reached a wage agreement as expected on Tuesday morning, averting strike action across the capital. Unions had threatened action by 2,200 workers on Tuesday, including traffic officers and school administration staff, if no settlement was reached. State and local government workers reached an agreement on Monday morning, while separate negotiations for 50,000 […]
Major strikes averted in public sector
May 26, 2014
UPDATED: All-night labour negotiations ended Monday morning with settlements for both state and local government workers in Norway. The local government workers settled first, followed by their counterparts at the state level, fending off the threat of strikes by thousands of public sector workers. After eight hours of negotiations in overtime that lasted through the […]
‘Business as usual’ as strike talks go on
May 26, 2014
All-night labour negotiations dragged into the early morning hours on Monday, as negotiators for hundreds of thousands of public sector employees in Norway failed to agree on settlements but kept trying. State and local government workers were finally told, just before 7am, to go to work as usual. That means schools, day care centers, nursing […]
Public service threatens strikes
May 22, 2014
Unions announced 30,000 government workers could take strike action from Monday morning if no wage settlement can be reached through mediation. The strike has the potential to affect kindergartens, schools, prisons, courthouses, police, customs stations, traffic stations, the tax office and the defense force. The mediation deadline for parties in both the state and municipal […]
38 Norwegian Air flights cut each day
May 20, 2014
Norwegian Air has cancelled 38 flights every day this week, and said it did not expect its timetable to return to normal before the weekend. Strike action hanging over the company was averted on Monday but it was too late to avoid a massive drop in ticket sales, forcing Norwegian to cancel almost 190 departures. […]
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