On April 17th, unions representing employees across the private sector in Norway initiated a large-scale industrial action, leading to an estimated 25,000 workers going on strike over wage disputes.
Carlsberg and Royal Unibrew, both of which have operations in Norway, have confirmed that their production has been impacted by the ongoing industrial action.
According to the company, approximately half of Carlsberg’s workforce in Norway has participated in the industrial action.“This means that we cannot maintain our operations. All production and distribution of our products has therefore been shut down and will remain so for as long as the strike lasts,” a spokesperson said.
Royal Unibrew, a drinks group based in Denmark, has reported that 123 workers at its production sites, namely Hansa Bryggeri and Borg Bryggerier, are participating in the wage dispute led by the union.
“As a consequence of the strike, we have been compelled to cease the production with effect from this morning,” a Royal Unibrew spokesperson said.
Union officials have confirmed that around 110 workers of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners are also participating in the strike.
The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) represents all employers, while several unions, primarily The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS), are leading the ongoing strike.
It is estimated that today’s one-day strike involves around 25,000 workers in Norway, including those from the construction, food and drink, manufacturing, and technology industries. An additional 16,000 employees are expected to participate in further action, which is planned for April 21st.
Norwegian trade unions are advocating for a salary increase to improve the purchasing power of their members, who have been impacted by inflation. They argue that any offer that does not exceed or match the Norwegian headline inflation rate of 4.9% cannot be considered a wage increase.
Rejecting the NHO’s recent pay proposal, LO said, “The proposal that was put on the table would not have improved purchasing power for large groups of LO’s members. That’s why we said no. The low-wage groups would come off badly, and we could not agree to that.”
The unions have cautioned that the strike could potentially expand to involve around 200,000 workers.
