Labor Relations in Norway

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The settlement period in the public sector lasts two years and allows for wage renegotiations in the second year. The bargaining rounds of the local government sectors are regulated by the Labor Disputes Act, while the state sector is regulated by the Civil Service Disputes Act.

Resolutions of disputes concerning the revision of collective agreements largely rely on mediation, which in practice is compulsory. The Labor Disputes Act functions as the legal basis for mediation with the exception of disputes involving the public administration, in which case the Act Relating to Civil Service Disputes forms the legal basis. A permanent National Mediator called a Riksmekler is appointed by the Government to serve for a period of three years at a time. In addition a number of special mediators are appointed for limited periods of time or for certain cases, as well as a permanent deputy for the National Mediator. The National Mediator must be notified of all strikes and lock-outs beforehand, and the mediator can prohibit the parties from implementing a strike or lock-out until mediation has concluded. Compulsory mediation is common in Norwegian wage negotiations, and the practice of compulsory mediation is uncontroversial. Procedures concerning local bargaining are usually given in the sectorial collective agreements. Break-downs in local wage bargaining are generally solved by arbitration in the public sector, while in the private sector, the employer usually has the final word. Two exceptions are worth mentioning.

Norwegians have an extensive obligation to maintain peace and strict regulations concerning the use of industrial action, the level of conflict has been low and is mainly associated with short-term, although sometimes large-scale, strikes during renegotiations of agreements. If a strike or a lock-out can cause “serious damage to society”, the government may present a special act to parliament to end a work stoppage. The dispute must then be resolved by an arbitration board, the National Wages Board known as Rikslønnsnemnda. Decisions to ban a conflict and to invoke the National Wages Board are proposed by the government and adopted by parliament.

Labor relations constitute an important part of the Norwegian social model it is characterized by strong employers’ and workers’ organizations and by close cooperation between the government, employers’ associations and trade unions, as well as by strong co-determination and participation at company level. This provides a stable and resilient economic system for the Norwegian culture.

References

Dolvik, J. (2007). The Nordic regimes of labour market governance. From Crisis to succus Story? Oslo:Fafo, 55-75.

Dolvik, J. a. (1998). Norway:The Revival of Centralized Concertation. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

EVJU, S. a. (2000). European social policy and the Nordic Countries. Labour law and labour market in Norway. Ashgate. Retrieved from Labour law and the Labor market in Norway.

Unknown. (n.d.). The working environmentand safety . Retrieved from www.regjeringent.no: http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ad/topics/The-working-environment-and-