Norwegian Hotel/Restaurant Workers Launch National Strike

Posted to the IUF website 13-May-2004

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The Norwegian Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union HRAF begin national strike action on May 12 when workers walked off the job at two establishments. In response to the employers' refusal to seriously negotiate the terms of a new national agreement for the sector, the union plans to escalate the industrial action on Saturday, May 15 when nearly 1,600 workers will walk out in the key cities of Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim.

Some 80 percent of the union's members rejected the previous offer of the employers' association, who in a final mediation session rejected even a 3.5 percent wage increase - the framework adopted for all other industrial sectors. The union had initially requested a 4.1 percent increase for its members, who are among the lowest paid in Norway.

According to HRAF president Eli Ljunggren, the dispute is less about wages than the employers' intention to fundamentally weaken the union, which has now been forced to carry out its fourth strike in 8 years.

The national trade union center LO has pledged full solidarity and support in the HRAF's struggle against employer hostility and intransigence. According to the union, many individual employers are also concerned over the breakdown in negotiations, as the consequences of the strike (particularly with a number of important traditional tourist holidays coming) will be much more expensive than the wage demands.