An agreement has been reached on Monday in the wage settlement for church employees after a month-long strike.
The strike in the church sector started on Saturday, December 12.
A total of 58 church employees have been taken out on strike during the period.
“We have secured that tomorrow’s priests have the same salary level as today’s priests. That was our most important demand in this wage settlement,” Unio KA’s chief negotiator Kristian Mollestad noted.
“It is a relief that a historic strike ended with a historic victory. We have a very special year behind us, where it gradually became more important to ensure that all members, including the Church, were able to maintain their purchasing power,” the union’s deputy leader Odd-Haldgeir Larsen noted.
A new pay system
The parties have now agreed on a joint effort that will look more closely at a new, common structure for additional wage rates for all employees in the Church of Norway.
The parties will continue working together to develop a common system of pay and additional pay in the Church.
Church council leader Kristin Gunleiksrud Raaum says she is relieved that the strike is over.
“We are happy that the strike in the Church sector is now over. As a responsible employer, we have made sure to help end the conflict and are relieved that the parties have now reached an agreement,” Gunleiksrud Raaum added.
Mediation
The KA Employers’ Organization for Church Activities negotiated on behalf of the Church of Norway.
“The mediation result involves an important step towards a tailor-made salary system for the Church of Norway that takes the uniqueness of the Church sector seriously,” Marit Halvorsen Hougsnæs, CEO of KA Employers’ Organization for Church Activities, noted in a press release early Monday morning.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
Do you have a news tip for Norway Today? We want to hear it. Get in touch at [email protected]
Going on strike for Christmas seemed … un-Christian.
I cannot imagine anything like this happening in the States.