Arbitration News

Finance Workers in Oslo Protest Strike Ban

Finance workers in Oslo, Norway, demonstrated on June 12 to protest a government decision to ban a strike due to start that day. Demonstrating outside the Royal Castle, the workers were also protesting a lockout threatened by their employers—the banks and insurers.

The workers are campaigning to defend their pension rights as Norwegian insurance employers seek to cut the cost and benefits of their pension scheme. The dispute involves some 24,000 employees, and a strike would virtually shut down the Norwegian financial industry.

The government has appointed a seven-member arbitration committee to enforce a settlement in the dispute. Labour Minister Bjarne Haakon Hanssen said a special session of parliament would enact the legislation needed to force the parties into mediation. On June 10, talks between Finansforbundet and the employers’ federation failed to reach agreement. The government then intervened in the dispute as the first national banking strike in 30 years was threatened.

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	Did You Know?
	There is one drawback to arbitration. There are no guarantees that arbitration will be a fair process. Once a decision is rendered in a binding arbitration, the parties are generally stuck with that decision. Without the right to appeal, there is always the risk of being subject to the whims and prejudices of the arbitrator. Overall, this is probably the biggest drawback to the arbitration process.