Agreement on salary settlements within banking and insurance

Economy and business: Finansforbundet and Finans Norge agreed on a general supplement of 2.65 per cent, a minimum of NOK 15,000 each.

– The total salary framework we agreed on is 5.2 per cent. This is a framework that gives our members real wage growth, says union leader Vigdis Mathisen in a press release from the Financial Confederation.

She says it has been important to ensure everyone a good central supplement, while at the same time there must be room for good local settlements.

– We have members at all salary levels with different types of expertise. The Finance Association won approval to extend the wage regulation by six steps, which means that even more finance employees will be covered by the wage chapter in the collective agreement.

This means that it is time for local settlements in each individual company.

– We have come a long way. Given TBU’s forecasts for price growth, this will result in a real wage increase for employees in finance, says Director of Labor Therese Høyer Grimstad in a press release.

TBU – Technical calculation committee – has estimated a price increase of 4.1 per cent this year. With a framework of 5.2 per cent, real wage growth will therefore be 1.1 per cent.

– We did not succeed in this this year because conditions were set by the Financial Association which we could not accept, says Høyer Grimstad.

Members can still agree on a stepless pay system locally. The scheme with transitional supplements in finance will continue until the pension settlement’s hardship scheme in the national insurance is in place.

The employer side Finans Norge is pleased to have reached the settlement. It comprises around 22,000 employees, mainly in banking and insurance.

Finance Norway wanted to remove the steps in the wage regulation centrally, but it did not work.