How travel in Norway is affected by the general strike

After unsuccessful wage settlement negotiations between employee and employer representatives, a general strike started on Monday morning.

Over 24,000 union members are on strike, which has affected shipyards, car dealerships, beer breweries, Ikea warehouses, and many other sectors and services.

• READ MORE: How the general strike in Norway will affect you

The general strike has also had an impact on the transport and travel sectors – especially when it comes to ferry operations and Oslo hotels.

Multiple ferry connections affected by strike

Departures on several ferry connections across the country are cancelled due to the strike. At the same time, several ferry connections are operating at reduced capacity.

Travellers are encouraged to check the websites of the relevant ferry operators to find updated route information.

However, it's important to note that there are alternatives for all the ferry routes affected by the strike. For example, you can take the Oslofjord Tunnel instead of the ferry between Horten and Moss, FriFagbevegelse writes.

On Monday morning, Bastø Fosen AS, which runs across the Oslofjord, stated that one of its vessels had gone on strike. The company wrote on its website that the connection would therefore be operated with four vessels.

In Vestland, all the major ferry routes on the E39 are affected by the strike, in addition to several ferry connections on county roads and speedboat traffic.

"We encourage road users to look up updated route information on the ferry companies' websites in connection with the strike," department director Dag Hole in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration noted in a press release, according to the newspaper Bergens Tidende (BT).

In Troms, among other things, the fast ferry between Tromsø and Harstad is affected, according to the newspaper iTromsø. In Trøndelag, three fast boat and ferry connections are also affected.

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and FriFagbevegelse have published a list of affected ferry lines, which you can find below:

Hordaland/Sogn og Fjordane:
Bergen – Sogndal (Norled)
Bergen – Selje – Bergen (Norled)

Hordaland county:
Buavåg – Langevåg (Fjord1)
Gjermundshamn – Årsnes (Fjord1)
M/S Fjordkatt (Norled)
M/S Tranen (Norled)
Sandvikvåg – Halhjem M/F Samnøy – M/F Færøy (Torghatten Nord)
Skjærsholmane – Ranavik (Fjord1)
Utne – Kvandal (Boreal sjø)

Møre og Romsdal county:
Halsa – Kanestrøm (Fjord1 AS)
Hareid – Sulesund (Fjord1 AS)
Magerholm – Sykkylven (Fjord1 AS)
Molde – Vestnes (Boreal sjø)
Seivika – Tømmervåg (Fjord1 AS)
Solevågen – Festøya (Norled AS)

Nordland county:
Bogenes – Lødingen, route B (Torghatten Nord AS)
Bogenes – Lødingen route B (Torghatten Nord AS)
Drag – Kjøpsvik (Fjord1 AS)
Herøysambandet B (Norled AS)
Levang – Nesna (Torghatten Nord AS)
Lurøysambandet A (Norled AS)
Melbu – Fiskebøl (Torghatten Nord AS)
Hjelmeland – Nesvik-Ombo (Norled AS)
Mortavika – Arsvågen (Fjord1 AS)

Sogn og Fjordane county:
You – Lotto (US Fjord1)
Oppedal – Lavik (Norled AS)

Troms county:
Refsnes – Flesnes (Torghatten Nord AS)
Route 2 Tromsø Harstad (Norled AS)

Trøndelag county:
Brekstad – Valset (Fjord1 AS)
Hofles – Geisnes – Lund (Torghatten midt AS)
Trondheim – Brekstad (Torghatten midt AS)
Trondheim – Brekstad (FosenNamsos Sjø AS)

Vestland county:
Sandvikvåg – Halhjem (Torghatten Nord AS)

Viken county:
Aker brygge – Nesoddtangen (Norled AS)
Moss – Horten (Bastø Fosen AS)
Route B11 + B21 (Norled AS)

Hotel operations in Oslo hit by strike

Along with ferry operations, several hotels are also affected by the general strike.

Some 70 employees at the Grand Hotel and 105 employees at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Oslo have joined the strike.

The strike leader and butler at the Palmen Restaurant at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Freddy Paz, told the newspaper VG they were affected by the strike.

"When there are so many of us who have gone on strike, it will, of course, affect us. There is no doubt about it," Paz said.

That means that only twelve employees are responsible for the hotel's operations, the newspaper E24 reports.

The Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) took out close to 1,441 of its members on strike on Monday. It may increase this by an additional 466 workers on Friday. The 70 employees at the Grand Hotel in Oslo are among the 1,441 workers on strike.

Furthermore, if the strike is stepped up on Friday, a further 16,561 LO members could join it.