Four identical collective agreements in the state – what now?

On Friday, May 29, ten hours after the mediation deadline, Unio, Akademikerne and YS agreed with the state on a new basic collective agreement. A few hours later, LO accepted the same agreement. This means that for the first time in ten years there are four identical collective agreements in the state.

What does this mean for the collective bargaining process? As a member of Unio, Forskerforbundet has had a joint collective agreement with Akademikerne since 2022, while LO and YS have been together on a different agreement. Will the dynamics of the local negotiations change when all four negotiate together? We spoke to Steinar A. Sæther, president of Forskerforbundet and chief negotiatior for Unio in the state sector.

Congratulations on the agreement on a new basic collective agreement. Are you satisfied with the agreement?

– I am very pleased that the main principles in our agreement have been continued. The entire available framework still goes to local negotiations at the company level, and this local profile has also been strengthened in the agreement text. We have removed unnecessary central regulations on minimum wage and credit rules, and replaced them with provisions on local wage policy. We have also strengthened the opportunity to receive assistance from the central parties in the negotiations. The new agreement simply gives the local union representatives better tools.

What feedback have you received from the local union reps in the state?

– Our union representatives prefer to distribute the entire framework locally, primarily because it is their experience that this is how we get the most out of every krone in the wage settlement. At the same time, they have wanted better regulation of the local wage negotiations, and they are now getting that. It is worth noting that Unio, Akademikerne and YS, which negotiated this more refined collective agreement, organize 70 percent of the unionized employees in the state. So there is a large majority that wants such a profile.

One criticism from the LO team has been that local wage negotiations mean favoritism and merit pay?

– This is a criticism that is grossly misplaced. The fact that wage negotiations take place locally does not mean that the general supplements will disappear. They are only decided at the individual workplace instead of in Oslo. Our shop stewards use the entire toolbox: general supplements for everyone, group supplements for employee groups that have fallen behind, and individual supplements based on education, competence, responsibility and risk. It is targeted and systematic work that yields good results over time.

Can you say a little more about what you achieved in this year's negotiations, beyond defending the collective agreement?

– The role of the local representatives has been strengthened, and the agreement also takes better care of the representatives' own salary development. The inconvenience supplements for evening, night and weekend work have been significantly strengthened. The framework for loans in the State Pension Fund has been increased to 2.8 million. And then working groups will be set up to work further on several issues that are important to us: such as the job code system, life phase policy, and home office.

What about the financial result?

– The total financial framework is 4.4%, with a wage carry-over of 1.7% and a wage drift of 0.8%. This gives an available framework of 2.7% as of May 1, 2026. This is an acceptable result, in line with the frontline sector. But it is also nothing to celebrate. There is a risk that the backlog from the state to the private sector will increase further. If the state wants to retain and recruit important expertise in the years ahead, they must put more money into the pot.

This year's settlement has received attention because first YS and then LO chose to switch agreement. How do you explain this?

– YS has been clear that local negotiations have yielded good results for them, so it was no surprise. LO, on the other hand, has marked itself as a strong opponent of local negotiations, and has made quite harsh accusations against us: That we support favoritism, that we are giving up the right to strike, etc. Now that LO has chosen to join our agreement, I expect more constructive cooperation in the future. Also to ensure good wage development for state employees with higher education.

Both the state and LO were concerned with getting four identical agreements in place. Is it a problem for Unio that they won?

– The most important thing for us has always been to defend the principles behind our own agreement. That LO is joining this agreement is of course completely fine. We believe that the state would have lived well with two agreements as well, but now we look forward to cooperating more closely with all the main unions. Part of the point of having four identical agreements in the state has been to have greater peace of mind at work. I hope we can achieve that in the future.