Collective wage agreements for 1.3 million employees are due to expire on 31 March. Unless new deals are met by then, the risk of conflict is likely to increase substantially. Deals for another 900,000 employees are set to expire at the end of April.
Expiring agreements (in most cases met three years ago) for the most part were met at annual wage increases of 2.2-2.3%.
Traditionally, unions have agreed to allow the export industry to be the benchmark for other areas - however, this time around this did not work. The reason was that the municipal workers union (Kommunal) wanted to raise wages more for certain low-paid groups in the healthcare sector while accepting the 'industry benchmark' for other groups within Kommunal.
Wage claims from industry are 2.8% - the same as claims presented in the wage negotiations three years ago. Other areas within the private sector (for example, retail trade and construction) have presented wage demands at a somewhat higher level, 3.2-3.3%.
Employers for the most part argue for zero increases in collective wage deals and say that all wage increases should be on an individually agreed basis.
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