In a groundbreaking ruling from the Labor Court on February 5, new light was shed on the legality of sympathy strikes in Norway, especially in cases involving foreign employers. The ruling, of above-average principled significance, provides important clarifications on the scope of the Main Agreement between LO (Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions) and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association and sets a precedent for future labor disputes with international elements. With this ruling, workers' rights are strengthened, enhancing the ability to enforce tariff demands against foreign employers in Norway.
The LO-affiliated union Industri Energi (IE, now IE&FLT after a recent merger) filed a demand for a collective agreement with SLB UK at the beginning of 2023, a company based in the United Kingdom with a Norwegian-registered branch (NUF). The conglomerate also has a Norwegian company – Schlumberger Norge AS – which is not involved in the dispute between IE and SLB UK. After negotiations and mediation in the dispute were unsuccessful, a strike was initiated by 9 IE members employed by SLB UK from March 30 to April 27, 2023. LO announced a sympathy action among members in Archer. NR (Norwegian Shipowners' Association) contested that the conditions for a sympathy action in the Main Agreement section 17.1 were met. LO filed a lawsuit in the Labor Court to determine the legality and contractual nature of the announced sympathy action.
Summary of the case
between LO and the Norwegian Shipowners' Association (NR) section 17.1, where it states:
"The provisions on the obligation to maintain peace in the collective agreements do not restrict the company's or the workers' right to participate in a work stoppage in Norway that is initiated in support of another lawful conflict in Norway, when consent is given by NR or LO."
Outcome of the case
LO succeeded in its claim that the notified sympathy action is legal and contractual. The Labor Court affirmed that it is Norwegian law and Norwegian courts that shall decide on the legality of strikes concerning demands for Norwegian wages and working conditions for work in Norway and on the Norwegian continental shelf. This applies even in cases where the employer is a foreign company, with foreign employees, without contracts with Norwegian companies. Furthermore, the Labor Court established that the court shall not review the appropriateness or proportionality of the sympathy action, consistent with previous practice from the Labor Court, including ARD-2010-222 (the ICT agreement). As long as the main purpose of the sympathy strike is to support the tariff demand of the strikers in the main conflict, it is legal. In assessing whether the strike in the main conflict, i.e., the strike among IE & FLT's members in SLB UK, shall be evaluated under Norwegian or British law, the Labor Court ruled that Norwegian law shall apply. The Labor Court had not previously addressed choice-of-law issues where strikes, as here, have a cross-border element. The Labor Court found that the "nationality" of the strike shall be assessed based on the tariff demand and the work that requires tariff regulation. An opposite outcome would have made it difficult to use labor action and sympathy strikes to enforce tariff demands against foreign employers.
NR succeeded in its general interpretation claim that the term "in Norway," as used in section 17.1 of the Main Agreement "lawful main conflict in Norway," constitutes an independent condition and a geographical limitation on which main conflicts can be supported by sympathy action, but this was a subordinate point in the case.
Consequences of the judgment
In the future, the judgment will have implications for the ability to enforce tariff demands against foreign employers in Norway. As the Labor Court found that the strike in the main conflict is legal and that the purpose of the sympathy action is to support the strikers in the main conflict connected to Norway, the strike in the main conflict will continue, and the pressure on the employer will presumably increase through legal sympathy actions, which likely will lead to the tariff demand ultimately being accepted.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
