Unio and Forskerforbundet are on strike for state employees with higher education
The government wants to force all state employees to enter into a collective agreement that Unio and Akademikerne do not want.
27.05.2024
Guro Lind, head of negotiations for Unio in the state sector and president of Forskerforbundet
Members who are called out on strike have been notified of this by Unio. If you have not received a notice, you are not part of the selection of strikers. Read more about this here |
– We can not accept that the government overruns our members by force, says Guro Lind, head of negotiations for Unio stat.
Unio and Forskerforundet are on strike in the state sector because the mediation at the National Mediator (Riksmekleren) was unsuccessful. The government was never interested in meeting Unio's demands, but was keen to force all state employees into one collective agreement at any cost.
– This agreement would have provided a worse solution for Unio's members than today, and it was never relevant to accept the state's proposal. The state knew full well that Unio and Akademikerne could never accept such an agreement. The government is responsible for this strike, says Lind.
Arrogance of power
Unio and Akademikerne are by far the largest confederations in the state sector, but the government chooses to override this majority.
– It shows arrogance of power, and is a politicization of salary negotiations which is very problematic and undermines tripartite cooperation in the state sector, says Lind.
It is irresponsible not to assess the consequences
Unio and Akademikerne entered into a separate collective agreement with the state two years ago, and this agreement has been good for state employees with higher education.
State employees with higher education have over time had poorer pay development, both compared to highly educated people in the private sector, and state employees with shorter education. Unio and Akademikerne's collective agreement has made it possible to reverse this negative development.
– We were well underway with the work to ensure better salary development for government employees with higher education. The agreement has only worked for two years. It is unjustifiable for the state to walk away from this agreement without investigating the consequences first, says Lind.
That is why Unio ((The Confederation of Unions for Professionals) and Akademikerne (The Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations) are on strike.
As of Monday May 27, 1,610 of Unio's members are on strike.