Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
More than 14,000 workers in Norway could be taken out on strike, and southern Norway braced for up to 25 centimetres of spring snow. This and other news on Wednesday.
Snow warning issued with up to 25 centimetres expected
A yellow warning for snow has been issued in southern Norway and the areas surrounding the capital of Oslo from Thursday.
Between 5 and 25 centimetres of snow is expected, with the majority of it set to arrive in Agder county.
This may mean transport delays and cancellations in the areas with the most snow.
After the snow flurry, temperatures are expected to rise rapidly, with spring weather forecast towards the weekend.
Up to 14,300 workers could be taken out on strike from next week
The trade union group Fellesforbundet has said that it is prepared to take out more than 14,300 workers on strike from next week if mediation with employer organisation Norsk Industri fails.
“This first withdrawal will contribute to an effective strike that will hit the employer side hard. Should we end up in conflict, there will be more withdrawals,” Jørn Eggum, leader of Fellesforbundet, said.
Compulsory mediation between the two parties was set to begin later on Wednesday morning.
A deadline of Saturday, April 6th, has been set for the mediation. However, mediation can also run into overtime in order to avoid a strike.
The current talks concern “front-line” workers. These are workers in industries and sectors in which Norway competes with foreign companies. Therefore, wage rises need to balance competitiveness with foreign companies.
Egg shortage continues
The egg shortage in Norway has continued following Easter, and supermarkets have expressed their frustration.
“We could sell a lot more eggs if we had been given access, as we were promised by the market regulator before Easter. There were far from enough eggs available,” Harald Kristiansen, communications manager at Coop, told the Norwegian newspaper VG.
READ ALSO: What foreigners need to know about Norway's PAYE tax system
He said the market regulator hadn’t taken into account the increased demand for eggs over the past year.
Nortura, which regulates the egg industry, said that a similar amount of eggs to the year before were produced. However, it said that the shortages likely lead to hoarding.
“This Easter, at least as many eggs were produced in Norway as at Easter last year, but the recent focus on eggs has probably led to a lot of hoarding. In addition, many have bought eggs directly from the farm, and that naturally affects the selection in the grocery stores,” Marthine Haugen Petersen, senior communications advisor at Nortura, told the agricultural newspaper Nationen.
Centre Party rules out Socialist Left Party cooperation again
The Centre Party (Sp) have once again ruled out the prospect of working with the Socialist Left Party (SV) in a coalition.
The current minority government, consisting of the Labour Party (Ap) and the Centre Party, have relied on the Socialist Left Party’s support for budgets and key policies.
“We believe that Labour and the Centre Party are the parties with which it is best suited for cooperation. And that there are political realities that make the distance to other parties so great that government cooperation is not relevant,” Center Party parliamentary leader Marit Arnstad said.
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Snow warning issued with up to 25 centimetres expected
A yellow warning for snow has been issued in southern Norway and the areas surrounding the capital of Oslo from Thursday.
Between 5 and 25 centimetres of snow is expected, with the majority of it set to arrive in Agder county.
This may mean transport delays and cancellations in the areas with the most snow.
After the snow flurry, temperatures are expected to rise rapidly, with spring weather forecast towards the weekend.
Up to 14,300 workers could be taken out on strike from next week
The trade union group Fellesforbundet has said that it is prepared to take out more than 14,300 workers on strike from next week if mediation with employer organisation Norsk Industri fails.
“This first withdrawal will contribute to an effective strike that will hit the employer side hard. Should we end up in conflict, there will be more withdrawals,” Jørn Eggum, leader of Fellesforbundet, said.
Compulsory mediation between the two parties was set to begin later on Wednesday morning.
A deadline of Saturday, April 6th, has been set for the mediation. However, mediation can also run into overtime in order to avoid a strike.
The current talks concern “front-line” workers. These are workers in industries and sectors in which Norway competes with foreign companies. Therefore, wage rises need to balance competitiveness with foreign companies.
Egg shortage continues
The egg shortage in Norway has continued following Easter, and supermarkets have expressed their frustration.
“We could sell a lot more eggs if we had been given access, as we were promised by the market regulator before Easter. There were far from enough eggs available,” Harald Kristiansen, communications manager at Coop, told the Norwegian newspaper VG.
READ ALSO: What foreigners need to know about Norway's PAYE tax system
He said the market regulator hadn’t taken into account the increased demand for eggs over the past year.
Nortura, which regulates the egg industry, said that a similar amount of eggs to the year before were produced. However, it said that the shortages likely lead to hoarding.
“This Easter, at least as many eggs were produced in Norway as at Easter last year, but the recent focus on eggs has probably led to a lot of hoarding. In addition, many have bought eggs directly from the farm, and that naturally affects the selection in the grocery stores,” Marthine Haugen Petersen, senior communications advisor at Nortura, told the agricultural newspaper Nationen.
Centre Party rules out Socialist Left Party cooperation again
The Centre Party (Sp) have once again ruled out the prospect of working with the Socialist Left Party (SV) in a coalition.
The current minority government, consisting of the Labour Party (Ap) and the Centre Party, have relied on the Socialist Left Party’s support for budgets and key policies.
“We believe that Labour and the Centre Party are the parties with which it is best suited for cooperation. And that there are political realities that make the distance to other parties so great that government cooperation is not relevant,” Center Party parliamentary leader Marit Arnstad said.
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