After 111 days, the teachers’ strike is over. The government decided on Tuesday evening to use the compulsory wage board. – I have been looking forward to coming to school and meeting friends for so long. That is the best. Amalie Bjørkedal-Aksnes (14) says so. She was supposed to start ninth grade this fall, but has not had classes since her teachers at Gimle nursery school in Bergen went on strike on 20 June. The 14-year-old has been frustrated and annoyed at losing out on learning. Now she is looking forward to trying to make up for what was lost. – It’s just before I start crying! she says. His father, Bernt Ola Bjørkedal, is equally moved. – I have been waiting for this. That they should be allowed to return to everyday life and routines. Student council leader Lidia Polanska at Byåsen high school in Trondheim is relieved. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news – Incredibly lovely Lidia Polanska is student council leader at Byåsen upper secondary school in Trondheim. Teachers have been on strike there since the end of August. She, too, is very happy that the teachers’ strike is over. – It will be incredibly nice to come back to the classroom. To get follow-up and a plan from the teachers. We have been hit hard by the strike, she says. She said that motivation had started to fall. – It has been very challenging – difficult to keep the pressure on yourself. Polanska nevertheless has a great understanding of the strike. – I think it is very good that the strike is over. But most pupils understand very well why the teachers are on strike. Lately, many people have realized how important the work the teachers do, she says. The teachers were angry and demotivated. Minister of Labor and Inclusion Marte Mjøs Persen (Ap) called KS and the three teachers’ organizations to a meeting on Tuesday at 18.45. Thus, it was almost certain that her message was that the government would use a forced wage commission to end the strike. Half an hour later it was publicly confirmed. – I am particularly concerned about the pupils’ education, vulnerable children and young people, and their mental health. After a joint assessment, I have therefore proposed a compulsory pay committee, said Persen at the press conference shortly after the meeting. The teachers’ organizations call it a dark day. – The school lost and KS won. I fear that many teachers are now angry, disappointed and demotivated. Now the strike has stopped, but the conflict has intensified, says leader Steffen Handal of the Education Association. Head of the Norwegian Association of Lecturers, Helle Christin Nyhus, agrees. – I am both angry and disappointed on behalf of all the lecturer members and the joint school that they are fighting for. Forced pay commission is no solution to this conflict. The employers’ side of the teachers’ strike, KS, say they are happy that the strike is now over. – It is a great pity that the parties were unable to agree on a solution and that a compulsory wage board is required. But we are very happy that 150,000 children and young people who have been affected by the strike can now return to school, says Director of Labor Tor Arne Gangsø in KS. Strike leader from the Education Union in Stjørdal, Inger Anne Sundbø, says the crisis of confidence between KS and the teachers’ organizations will not end even if the strike is over. – What will happen now is that the teacher crisis in Norwegian schools will only intensify. We struggle with recruitment and retaining the teachers. Isabelle Larsen is looking forward to meeting her friends again. She only got three days at secondary school before the strike sent her home. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news Have lost 15 per cent of the school year Before the teachers’ strike was called off today, the Education Association had announced a new strike with 300 teachers on Wednesday. Around 8,500 teachers in Norway would then have been on strike. The strike has lasted the longest in Bergen, where the National Association of Schools took out three teachers on strike at Olsvik School already on 8 June. After the summer holidays, several schools across the country have slowly but surely fallen victim. Many pupils have so far lost 30 school days of the 2022/23 school year: – Difficult to get to know new people But the pupils are happy that the strike is over anyway. – I am looking forward to meeting my friends again, says Isabelle Larsen in Porsgrunn. She only got three days as an 8th grader at a new school before the strike started. In a class of 21, she only knows three of her fellow students from before. Now he is preparing to return to school. – It is possible that other pupils have become known during the strike. So then it can be more difficult to get to know new people, she says. The fresh 8th graders think it will be extra exciting with grades for the first time. – Then I can see how I am doing in the subject. School opens on Wednesday Principal Bjørn Matsson at Gjøvik upper secondary school was among the first to announce on Tuesday evening that normal school will be open on Wednesday. Several municipalities are now reporting that schools will reopen on Wednesday morning, but people should check the information on their municipality’s website. Bodø and Bergen are among the municipalities that report that there will be school for the pupils from tomorrow, and that the teachers will meet according to the usual timetable. And the 14-year-old Amalie has tonight been sent the timetable which shows that her school day starts tomorrow at 9 o’clock. This is what they are arguing about Teachers’ pay: KS has made the teachers pay losers for the sixth year in a row. Teachers have had a weaker pay trend than other employees in municipalities and counties. KS: The figures from the Technical Calculation Committee (TBU) that the Norwegian Confederation of Education uses are not very relevant for looking at salary trends. Figures for the municipal sector show that the various groups of teachers have had 1 per thousand lower wage growth in the last five years than the average. Teacher dropouts: Increasingly poor conditions are one reason why 40,000 people with teacher training no longer work in schools. KS: Of around 33,000 with teacher training who do not work in the school system, around 40 per cent still work in education and school (nursery, higher education, after-school education, adult education centres, community colleges). Lack of qualified teachers The teachers: One in five who teach in the school (primary school and VGO combined), lack an approved teacher training. KS: There is no shortage of teachers in Norway, 96 per cent of primary school teachers meet the competence requirements. The actual turnover is relatively low for teachers, around 8 per cent, compared to around 12 per cent in the municipal sector as a whole. Recruitment The teachers: The number of applicants to the teacher training courses is down for the third year in a row. The reason is, among other things, weak wage growth since 2004 compared to other groups. KS: This year’s result ensures good salary increases for all employees, while at the same time it has a clear recruitment profile. Only 5 per cent of municipalities say in KS’ employer monitor that it is “very challenging” to recruit primary school teachers. There is a shortage of teachers in some municipalities, and a surplus of teachers in others. Teachers with a long education The teachers: Teachers with more than four years of education are paid less than all other professions with the same length of education, in both the public and private sectors. The school is the sector in Norway where higher education gives the worst pay in terms of wages. KS: In this year’s settlement, new teachers with a master’s degree will be guaranteed a starting salary of NOK 563,800. Most have additional functions on top of this, an average of NOK 25,000. Education also pays off in the municipal sector in the long term. (Sources: KS and the Swedish Education Association)
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Happy pupils after the teachers’ strike was called off – news Vestland
