Salary negotiations for state employees recently reached a settlement. Even though the Norwegian Association of Researchers and Unio State broke off negotiations when the state refused to offer more than a 2.7 per cent increase in salaries, that was where mediation came to an end.
‘We’re disappointed that we didn’t get any further,’ says lead negotiator Guro Elisabeth Lind. Minister of Local Government Nikolai Astrup is pleased: ‘We have achieved a result within the 2.7 per cent guideline. This is important after a demanding year in which the private sector, in particular, has been hit hard by the pandemic,’ he says.
Following the settlement, research fellows at salary scale 54 will see their annual salaries increase by 9000 kroner, while an associate professor at scale 74 will earn 7700 kroner more. Since price inflation will likely be higher, for many this will mean a decrease in real salary.
Elsewhere, unions representing muni- cipal employees have called their members out on strike to demand increases in real salary. Almost 8000 members of Unio in the municipalities were in the end of May on strike. ‘We stand united for a good cause in Unio. We’re striking for the community and the goal is to reach central agreement,’ says Kasper F. Solbu (pictured), union representative for the Norwegian Association of Researchers in Bærum.
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