Unio and the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations announce strike 

Some 1,261 workers in Norway from Unio and the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations will strike from Friday. 

The strike was announced at 7:30am on Friday after mediation overtime on Friday failed to lead to an agreement. 

The Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations will put 1,240 employees on strike, and Unio will take 21 workers out. 

Employees from the public sector will be taken out on strike by the unions. Police forces, universities, government ministries, the Sami parliament, and other entities will be affected. 

“We are going on strike to protect a collective agreement that the state is trying to take away from us. So we believe this is a move hostile to education,” Kari Tønnesen Nordli from the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations told public broadcaster NRK. 

A further 700 workers will be taken out on Monday. 

Kind Harald to go on tour 

King Harald will begin a royal tour of southwest Norway on Sunday, with the King visiting several municipalities for the first time. 

Froland, Åseral, Lund, Randaberg and Vindafjord will host their first royal visit. The royal tour will last until May 30th. 

The royal couple will use the royal Norwegian ship for parts of the tour. 

Norway’s parliament votes to allow cash payments

On Thursday, Norway’s parliament decided that customers in Norway should have the right to pay with cash. 

The country’s parliament adopted amendments to the Financial Agreements Act, which will make the rules on cash payments clearer. 

“We must make arrangements so that people who find the digital world a bit difficult can be confident that they will be paid in cash when they go to the store,” MP for the Centre Party, Sigbjørn Gjelsvik, said. 

State employees in Oslo could strike from Friday 

Oslo municipality could be hit by a general strike from Friday after talks entered mediation overtime. 

Thousands of employees in Oslo municipality could go on strike if an agreement isn’t reached. 

Nurseries, schools, nursing homes, emergency rooms and several municipal agencies could be affected by the strike. Some 1,900 employees could strike from Friday. 

The initial industrial action could lead to the closure of schools and libraries. A strike would mark the first time that all Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions employees in Oslo have opted to strike for nearly 40 years.