Some 80,000 workers in Norway set May 3 as the beginning of an indefinite nationwide strike. The decision follows the rejection by workers in the LO national union federation of a wage settlement negotiated with the employers federation. In the proposed three-year contract, the employers agreed to grant workers a fifth week of paid vacation starting in 2002, comprising one day already granted, another day next year, and the balance of three days the following year. The agreement was unpopular on a number of counts.
Workers insist on receiving the fifth week of vacation immediately.
Many consider that the wage offer is low compared with what workers have won through strike action, especially the walkouts two years ago by transport and hospital workers. Unionists also favor a contract that runs for a shorter term than the proposed three years. The strike is expected to have a wide impact. Iron ore transports by train from the mines in northern Sweden to the Narvik harbor will be affected. As imports of auto parts produced in Norway for Swedish vehicle manufacturers dry up, production in Volvo, Saab, and Scania plants in Sweden could be crippled within a week or two.