Largest strike in Norway for 14 years
BY MARGARET ALLUM
The largest strike in Norway for 14 years began on May 3, when almost 85,000 private sector workers rejected a new contract. Two-thirds of the union's rank-and-file membership voted against the deal between the employers and union officials.
The workers' demands include five weeks' annual leave (which has been promised for 19 years), wage increases and changes to tariffs.
On May 4, the National Workers' Confederation (LO), an umbrella organisation of trade unions representing more than 800,000 workers, pledged to step up the national strike. LO chairperson Yngve Haagensen said that his organisation would "build up a conflict that is so big that the employers will have to come to the table".
The Red Electoral Alliance, a socialist organisation in Norway, is encouraging rank-and-file union members to keep control of the industrial action.
The strike is in part a reaction to soaring big business profits and a number of corporate executives granting themselves huge bonuses while workers suffer from years of wage moderation.
The strike has affected land transport, passenger ferries, hotels and some security companies. The national employers' association said that 2000 businesses have been affected.
Oil companies are nervous about the impact on oil exports. Crude oil is Norway's strongest export income earner.