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 Oslo staff dragged on. A settlement was reached shortly before eight o’clock on Tuesday morning, reported Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) and news bureau NTB.
Oslo members secured a general increase of 1.9 percent, a minimum of NOK 8,000 (USD 1,300). “The general supplement secures an acceptable wage increase for both the low-paid and those with higher incomes,” said Martin Moen, the chief negotiator for workers’ union YS. “We are satisfied an agreement was reached, and this was in line with what we could have expected.”
Individual positions could also be adjusted by 0.42 percent, with 0.6 percent for local negotiations. “We are very satisfied that this year there will be adjustment negotiations,” Moen said. “There are many positions and job categories where there is a need for adjustment beyond the general supplement.”
Meanwhile, unrest remained among some of the workers included in Monday’s settlement, particularly teachers and customs officers. Teachers across several levels of education threatened on Monday afternoon to reject the collective agreement that their own unions agreed to, when members get their vote on June 6. It may mean any resulting strike action would happen during the summer holidays.
Customs officers called the settlement their union negotiated “inadequate” and said they would reject it, arguing the agreement did not make up for the comparatively smaller pay rises customs staff had received over recent years.
newsinenglish.no staff
