– Now the social consequences are so great that I have no choice but to step in, says Labor Minister Donje Brenna (AP).
Labor and Inclusion Minister Donjay Brenna (AP) has called a meeting on Wednesday morning regarding the labor dispute between the union and the state.
He says one of the reasons he is intervening is a report he received yesterday from the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness.
According to the minister, the strike significantly weakened the National Police helicopter readiness and border control.
– My job as a minister is to assess whether the consequences are so serious that I need to intervene and call off the strike.
During a press conference on Wednesday morning, he said that ten people would be taken out by a helicopter service in the Oslo police district.
– This means that national support resources in the Oslo Police District have significantly longer response times, he says.
Brenna says the police's ability to control the border has been weakened as a result of the strike.
– This means a greater risk of criminals entering Norway by air and sea.
– In this case, the authorities have no other choice. So the government proposes to use Compulsory Wage Boardshe says.
He tells Viji that it was the report of the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness that led to the tribunal's decision.
– Does this mean that an incumbent does not have the right to strike?
– No, it doesn't mean that. I am very concerned that we have the right to strike in Norway. It's also permissible to disagree to the extent that you end up on strike, and then it's my job to assess whether a strike is too serious and has such big consequences for society in general. Nobody wants a forced wage board, and neither do I, Brenna tells VG.
The union strike ended.
– We note that the government chooses to use the mandatory wage board rather than meet us at the negotiating table, says Kuro Lind, head of negotiations at Unio State.
Negotiator, Unio Stat
– Our struggle continues to extend the contract we have, but we ask our strikers to return to work, and we thank them for their wonderful efforts.
Lind tells VG that their goal is to extend the contract they signed two years ago.
– And then this battle continues, because education must also be paid in the state. Talent cannot be underestimated, he says.
read more: Stairs today – this is how the strike strikes
An increase was announced
The strike, which began on May 24, was extended for the third time on Monday. The union announced a further expansion on Wednesday, with 160 new members on strike. They include police and meteorological agency employees.
As a result, nearly 3,500 union members will go on strike.
Meteorologists hit hardest: Since Wednesday, a total of 60 employees at the Meteorological Center have gone on strike.
Many of the police are on strike, which goes beyond passport controls, emergency police and investigators.
– This is an escalation to clarify a serious situation. We want the government to come to the negotiating table, said Ørjan Hjortland, head of the Union State Strike Committee, regarding the new withdrawal.
read more: Meteorologist strike: Helicopter traffic came to a complete standstill
Compulsory Wage Board
On Sunday evening, the government ended the teachers' strike with a mandatory wage board, but the union continued the strike in full force.
The academics and the union broke off mediation on a state solution because it would effectively lose the collective agreement they had won when Erna Solberg (H) was prime minister.
The contract allows parties in a private business to distribute wages as they agree. Unio joined the deal in 2022. As an employer the government wants to return to the arrangement it had before 2016, when all organized had a core collective agreement. LO and YS prefer such an arrangement.
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