– I had the best job in the world, but even though the meetings with the students and the relationships with them were absolutely fantastic, unfortunately it often felt like it was impossible to do a good job, says Katrin Kummernes. Last autumn, she quit her job as a teacher. Now she has taken up the position as chief shop steward for the Education Association in Bodø, and sees that there are more and more teachers who know the same thing as her. – I meet teachers who are in despair on their own behalf, but most of all on behalf of the pupils, says Kummernes. And it didn’t get any better when the result of this year’s salary negotiations became clear almost two weeks ago. The strike that ended in nothing At the end of September, the teachers’ strike went to the forced wage board, after over 8,000 teachers across large parts of the country had stood on the barricades for higher wages based on education and competence for several weeks. In the case of a compulsory wage board, it is the National Wage Board that is tasked with deciding the outcome of the strike. The decision from there was discouraging for the teachers. They did not prevail with any of their demands. Compulsory wage board * In Norway, we have no law that regulates the authorities’ right to intervene in a strike. Therefore, a separate bill is always presented to the Storting in the individual case if an intervention in the right to strike is relevant. An Act on Compulsory Wage Boards prohibits further strikes. * The right to strike follows from the Constitution and is otherwise enshrined in international conventions. * However, the right to strike is not absolute. Intervention can be taken in a conflict if it leads to danger to life or health, or has other serious social consequences. * Where such boundaries go will depend on a concrete and holistic assessment in each individual case. However, the threshold for resorting to a compulsory wage board must be high. * In the case of a compulsory wage board, it is the National Wage Board that is tasked with deciding the outcome of the strike. The tribunal consists of one chairman and eight other members, including two representatives for each of the parties in the individual case. * Since the first Wage Board Act was passed in 1952, around 150 labor disputes have ended in a compulsory Wage Board. (Sources: Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, NTB and Store Norske Leksikon) – I would not say that the strike was of no use. It was a strike we had to take. The alternative was for us to say that it is ok that we are de-prioritised again and again, says Trond Are Fjordtun. He is a leader in the Education Association in Bodø, one of the municipalities where the most teachers were taken out on strike this autumn. Both he and the head of the Education Association in Nordland, Anita Karlsen, fear that the result of the wage settlement could have negative consequences. CONCERNED: Leader of the Education Association in Nordland, Anita Karlsen, does not think the results of the membership survey are encouraging reading. Photo: Petter Strøm / news – The teaching staff throughout Nordland are provoked by the fact that we didn’t get some anyway. I think they feel more distanced, both from politicians who have a responsibility to ensure quality in schools, but also from KS as an employer organisation, says Karlsen. – We hear about people who are dissatisfied and are looking for other jobs. A very recent member survey from the Danish Education Association shows the same tendency. According to the survey, the salary settlement has weakened the motivation of nine out of ten teachers. The survey also shows that two out of five teachers think they will look for a job elsewhere in the next two years. The largest proportion of teachers who wish to leave live in Troms and Finnmark. – I can’t really say that I was surprised, unfortunately, says Steffen Handal, head of the National Education Association. – After all, we get messages from our shop stewards locally that point in the same direction. It is clear that if many people seek to leave the teaching profession and stay away from it, and you replace these people with employees without teaching training, then it will be very unfortunate for Norwegian schools and for the pupils’ education. The Local Government Organization, KS, also takes the results of the survey seriously. KS will find solutions – There are a number of municipalities that have challenges in recruiting qualified teachers, while other municipalities do not have that challenge. We must constantly make sure that we are able to both recruit and retain qualified teachers in the school, says department director Kristin Holm Jensen in KS. During the spring, KS and the teachers will enter into new salary negotiations. Handal in the Education Association has a list of what he believes will be important to prioritize. – I think it will make the teaching profession more attractive if we get a pay rise for teachers, if teachers get fewer tasks, if we close the back door to the classroom, i.e. don’t let people in without teacher training to teach, and if we can also stop cutting the school budgets, says Handal. Kristin Holm Jensen in KS agrees to this extent. – Salary is one thing, but it is also important to create a good working situation for the teachers, she says. And in Bodø, former teacher Katrin Kummernes hopes that the promises to KS are more than just words: – The world’s best job needs to be valued by society at large.
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2 out of 5 teachers say they will look for new jobs after the outcome of the teachers’ strike – news Nordland
