Over 1,300 teachers in Norway join strike as new school year begins
On Monday, just over 1,300 teachers joined a strike affecting 14 municipalities and all of Norway's counties except Oslo in a dispute over wage rises.
The new school year began for most pupils in Norway on Monday. However, some classrooms are facing disruption already as 1,300 teachers strike over wages. The influx of striking teachers joins 45 education professionals who have been on strike in Bergen since before the summer holidays.
"Ideally, our members would like to be in the classrooms and receive their students after the school holidays. But when KS chooses to make the teachers in the school pay losers for the sixth year in a row, we, unfortunately, have no other choice," Steffen Handal, head of the Education Association, said when the escalation of the strike was announced last week.
READ ALSO: Which schools in Norway will be affected by the teachers’ strike?
Handal also previously said that more teachers could be taken out on strike later.
The strike will affect all of the country's counties, apart from Oslo. In addition, 14 municipalities will be affected by the strike. You can get an overview of which schools will be affected here.
In Norway, counties are responsible for funding high schools, while the local municipality funds other schools. This is why the strikes are spread across county and municipal levels.
Education unions are unhappy with the package offered to teachers by KS, which negotiates with the public sector on behalf of the government, during this year's collective bargaining agreement. The deal offered by KS was accepted by the public sector as a whole, however.
KS has previously warned that it didn't have much room to negotiate as the money teachers are after has been "used up ".
Since the wage mediation in May, there have been no formal negotiations between the Education Association and KS.
Comments
See Also
The new school year began for most pupils in Norway on Monday. However, some classrooms are facing disruption already as 1,300 teachers strike over wages. The influx of striking teachers joins 45 education professionals who have been on strike in Bergen since before the summer holidays.
"Ideally, our members would like to be in the classrooms and receive their students after the school holidays. But when KS chooses to make the teachers in the school pay losers for the sixth year in a row, we, unfortunately, have no other choice," Steffen Handal, head of the Education Association, said when the escalation of the strike was announced last week.
READ ALSO: Which schools in Norway will be affected by the teachers’ strike?
Handal also previously said that more teachers could be taken out on strike later.
The strike will affect all of the country's counties, apart from Oslo. In addition, 14 municipalities will be affected by the strike. You can get an overview of which schools will be affected here.
In Norway, counties are responsible for funding high schools, while the local municipality funds other schools. This is why the strikes are spread across county and municipal levels.
Education unions are unhappy with the package offered to teachers by KS, which negotiates with the public sector on behalf of the government, during this year's collective bargaining agreement. The deal offered by KS was accepted by the public sector as a whole, however.
KS has previously warned that it didn't have much room to negotiate as the money teachers are after has been "used up ".
Since the wage mediation in May, there have been no formal negotiations between the Education Association and KS.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.