Just before principal Solveig Rossebø Kalstad at Haugaland secondary school in Haugesund was to welcome the students to the start of school, she found out that half of the teachers had gone on strike. In total, there are around 850 pupils at the school. The students had barely been entered into the computer system before they were sent home. Rammer skeiv On Monday last week, the Education Association announced that a further 1,423 teachers at junior and secondary schools were to be taken out on strike. In total, over 3,000 teachers from three different unions are now on strike. The withdrawal applies to 14 municipalities and ten counties. On Wednesday, 431 more teachers will be taken out on strike, the Education Association announced on Friday. These schools will be affected. The third draw for the Education Association is from both secondary schools (county municipalities) and secondary schools (municipalities). The number below shows how many people have been taken out in this withdrawal. AGDER COUNTY MUNICIPALITY Arendal secondary school – 2 new employees on strikeSam Eyde secondary school – 102 on strike ARENDAL MUNICIPALITY Asdal school – 20 on strikeHisøy school (1-10 schools) – 1 on strikeRoligheden school children/youth level – 21 on strike BODØ MUNICIPALITYAlstad secondary school – 17 on strike strikeBankgata secondary school – 1 on strikeBodøsjøen school – 7 on strikeHunstad secondary school – 31 on strikeLøpsmark school – 11 on strikeRønvik school – 10 on strikeSaltvern school – 18 on strikeTverlandet school – 17 on strike GJØVIK MUNICIPALITYBiri secondary school – 12 on strikeBjørnsveen secondary school – 29 on strike HARSTAD MUNICIPALITYKila school – 14 on strike Seljestad junior high school – 22 on strike Stangnes school – 10 on strike HAUGESUND MUNICIPALITY Haraldsvang school – 41 on strike Håvåsen school – 2 on strike INDRE ØSTFOLD MUNICIPALITY Askim junior high school – 1 on strike Knapstad primary and junior high school – 5 on strike Mysen junior high school – 21 on strike Trøgstad junior high school – 11 on strike INLAND COUNTY MUNICIPALITYjøvik secondary school – 4 on strike MODUM MUNICIPALITY Nordre Modum secondary school – 21 on strike MØRE OG ROMSDAL COUNTY MUNICIPALITY Romsdal secondary school – 82 on strike PORSGRUNN MUNICIPALITY Grønli school – 1 on strike Heistad schools youth department – 29 on strike Kjølnes secondary school – 1 on strikeStridsklev secondary school – 13 on strike Tveten secondary school – 18 on strikeVestsiden school – 10 on strike strike ROGALAND COUNTY MUNICIPALITYKarmsund secondary school – 60 on strikeSkeisvang secondary school – 27 on strikeVardafjell secondary school – 27 on strike STEINKJER MUNICIPALITYSteinkjer municipal cultural school – 1 on strikeSteinkjer junior high school – 36 on strike STJØRDAL COMMUNITY Halsen junior high school – 25 on strikeHegra junior high school – 13 on strikeStjørdal municipality integration – 1 on strikeStokkan secondary school – 10 on strike TROMS OG FINNMARK COUNTY MUNICIPALITY Breivang secondary school – 30 on strikeHeggen secondary school – 3 on strikeIshavsbyen secondary school – 40 on strikeKongsbakken secondary school – 4 on strikeKvaløya secondary school – 20 on strikeStangnes raw secondary school dept. Stangnes – 4 on strikeTromsdalen secondary school – 27 on strike TROMSØ MUNICIPALITYKroken school – 20 on strikeKvaløysletta school – 1 on strike TRØNDELAG COUNTY MUNICIPALITY Mære agricultural school – 16 on strikeOle vig secondary school – 6 on strikeSteinkjer secondary school – 5 on strike VESTFOLD AND TELEMARK COUNTY MUNICIPALITY Vestfold and Telemark Vocational School department Porsgrunn – 5 on strike VESTLAND COUNTY MUNICIPALITY Amalie Skram secondary school – 48 on strike Fyllingsdalen secondary school – 35 on strike Laksevåg og bergen maritime secondary school – 25 on strike Langhaugen secondary school – 28 on strike Olsvikåsen secondary school – 35 on strike Sandsli secondary school – 41 on strikeVIKEN COUNTY COUNCIL Secondary school – 62 on strike Buskerud secondary school – 5 on strike Lillestrøm secondary school – 67 on strikeStrømmen secondary school – 64 on strike Sørumsand secondary school – 34 on strike Total: 1430 new on strike. Headmaster Kalstad believes that the strike has a very divisive effect on the pupils. Some people get lessons and others don’t, she says. – I can almost feel that I have a lump in my stomach. I am worried about our young people who have been through a pandemic, and who now have a very bad start to school. The headmaster fears what might happen if the strike goes on for a long time. She believes that school is the most important focal point in the students’ daily life. – We have students who are lonely, who may engage in self-harm and have suicidal thoughts. For them, this strike will perhaps be dramatic. There are also several new pupils whom the school does not yet know whether they need extra support or not, says the headmaster. During the pandemic, the school was able to offer the pupils home education. They can’t do that now, as it would be a breach of the right to strike, says Kalstad. 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 Uddanningsforbundet) No end in sight yet Fafo researcher Kristine Nergaard does not see an end to the strike anytime soon. – What I see here is that the parties are still as far apart as they were when the strike started in June, says Nergaard. In order for the strike to continue with the compulsory wage board, public bodies must send reports of concern to the authorities, she says. It is the Norwegian Health Authority that assesses the concerns against the danger to life and health. Fafo researcher Kristine Nergaard believes the strike will last for some time to come. Photo: FAFO – Can you imagine that there will be a compulsory wage board? – I think that if this strike goes on for a really long time, there could be a forced wage board. After all, there are two pieces of legislation that stand against each other. There is the right to strike and the right to training. Based on previous experiences from the teachers’ strike in 2014, Nergaard believes that a possible forced salary committee will not happen anytime soon. Can have lifelong consequences Child psychologist and professor at the University of Tromsø, Willy-Tore Mørch, last week wrote a reader’s letter in the North Norwegian debate where he said that the students are being sacrificed in favor of teachers’ salaries. He reacts to the fact that the strike leaders have not said or mentioned what negative aspects the strike has for the pupils. Child psychologist Willy-Tore Mørch is afraid that a prolonged strike could potentially destroy lives. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news – It is one thing that they hang on to academics, but it is also the case that it can affect their mental health. It can affect self-confidence and self-esteem. It’s a snowball that can roll, and that can have consequences for your whole life, says Mørch. Therefore, Mørch believes that the state should include mental health in the assessment of the danger to life and health, which could potentially lead to a compulsory wage board. He emphasizes that he is not against teachers being able to strike, but calls out caution as it seems that the strike could last a while. – We have to take this strike The leader of the National Schools’ Association, Mette Johnsen Walker, denies that they have not thought about the consequences for the students. – That is why we have screened the children’s school, and we also screen those in special education. Leader of the National Association of Schools, Mette Walker, believes the strike is necessary, especially for the recruitment of new subject and vocational teachers. Photo: The National Association of Schools Surveys from the pandemic showed that it was pupils at junior and secondary schools who were hit the hardest during the pandemic. Walker believes there are other authorities that can help those who may be struggling here. – It is still possible to help them, but this strike will have to take me, says Walker. It’s up to the parties to find a solution Labor and Inclusion Minister Mette Mjøs Persen (Ap) will not answer whether the state will intervene with a compulsory wage board just yet. – It is the parties who own the conflict and are responsible for finding a solution. If the strike leads to a danger to life and health or has other serious social consequences, the state can intervene with a compulsory wage board. – Can a teacher’s strike have serious social consequences even if there is no direct danger to life and health? – There is no doubt that a teacher’s strike can have major social consequences. I do not want to speculate on what it takes for a perfectly legal teacher’s strike to have such great societal consequences that it can justify stopping with a forced wage board. It will be a concrete assessment of the individual situation, and not correct to answer in general .
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The headmaster warns about the consequences of the teachers’ strike – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
