The Education Association’s chief negotiator Aina Beate Skjefstad Andersen points to two main reasons why the teachers in Oslo accepted the settlement, while the teachers in the KS area said no. – Firstly, Oslo had more money available, due to a lower overhang from last year. It gave greater room for maneuver, she tells NRK. FACILITY: The wage settlement in Oslo hit the teachers better, according to the Education Association’s chief negotiator Aina Beate Skjefstad Andersen. Photo: Adrian Nielsen This means that even though the framework for the two settlements was the same, namely 3.84 per cent, there was more money for distribution in Oslo, which is a separate tariff area. The technical ingenuity in that the so-called overhang – ie the “legacy” from last year’s settlement – is 1.7 per cent in the KS area and only 1.12 per cent in Oslo, has a big impact when the 2022 salary is to be calculated: The annual effect of a supplement may then be 0.58 per cent higher in Oslo than in the rest of the country (KS area). When the supplements come from 1 May, the settlement will take effect for eight months. Then the wage on 1 May can be increased by 0.87 per cent more in Oslo than in the rest of the country. For example, a salary of NOK 500,000 that receives a supplement of 3 per cent in the KS area will mean a supplement of NOK 15,000, while a growth of 3.87 per cent in Oslo will give an extra NOK 19,350. More time for the students The other main point Skjefstad Andersen points out is the arrangement of the settlement in Oslo. – In the KS area, through contact about working hours, a contact teacher resource has already been put in place in primary and secondary school. This has not been the case in Oslo, but this was fulfilled now, she says. In short, a contact teacher resource means that teachers have more time for other tasks related to being a contact teacher. It can be about preparing for teaching, parent contact, student interviews and follow-up. – What they now got in place in Oslo is in line with what they have already got in KS. It’s about more time for each student. In Oslo, the teachers were met in a better way, says Skjefstad Andersen. The facility also means that Unio’s requirements for extra pay measures in the school system were partially met, according to a press release from Unio. An extra school supplement is given at the lowest seniority levels for the associate professor groups, and the contact teacher supplement is increased. – The contact teachers now have more time to follow up the students, something that has long been a great need for. They also get paid better for this important job. The contact teacher is important for the students, so this is the right initiative from Oslo Municipality, says negotiation leader Therese Thyness Fagerhaug in Unio. Handal: – Can not be compared the Education Association’s leader Steffen Handal, who led Unio in the negotiations, does not think it is strange that the teachers in Oslo accepted the result, while the KS area said no. In Oslo, there was a settlement that was much better for the teachers, Handal believes. NEGOTIATION LEADER: The Education Association’s leader Steffen Handal. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB – Would you say yes if you had the Oslo result on the table? – It is not possible to compare, because the economic conditions were different and there were other elements in play in Oslo than in the KS area. – Does it weaken their demands that the Oslo teachers accept the result? – Absolutely not. I think we can turn it around and say that Oslo is an employer that to a greater extent managed to see the teachers in this collective bargaining agreement. It was thus possible to come to a solution with the teachers. The municipalities’ interest organization KS, which is the employees’ counterpart in the KS area, points to the same explanations as the teachers’ organizations. – The framework is the same, but Oslo municipality had a greater financial room for maneuver due to overhangs and wage slippage. Thus, the teachers in Oslo could receive a higher salary supplement than what was the result with us, says department director Hege Mygland in KS. She also refers to the agreement on working hours, which was agreed in the KS area already in January. – With us, it was already agreed that the contact teachers will receive one hour reduced teaching from the start of school in August, she says to NRK. Going on strike Both in the state, the KS area and in the municipality of Oslo, there was a long-term solution in the mediations. But the dissatisfaction among the teachers in the KS area was so strong that there is now a strike among the teachers. Both the Education Association, the Norwegian Association of Lecturers and the National Association of Schools have announced this. – The central board of the Education Association has chosen to say no to the recommended result in the KS area. They have done so unanimously. I’m not surprised, but happy about it, says Handal. – The consequence of this is that we get a teacher strike. But much is still unclear about what will be the way forward: The Norwegian Lecturers’ Association’s central board will take a position on the mediator’s proposal on 31 May. A possible strike will be made public four days before the start of a possible conflict. The first possible strike day is in 14 days at the earliest. The National Association of Schools has announced the resignation of four primary schools in Bergen. Since the mediation violation was quarantined for 14 days, the withdrawal will take place at the start of the working day on 7 June for 17 members at these schools. The Education Association has not taken a position on when the teachers in Bergen, who have already been notified of a first strike, will start their strike. The union will now decide how the strike will be built up.
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Therefore, the teachers in Oslo said yes and the others no – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
