The national organization, LO | LO complains about chief salaries, but the pamps themselves have salaries in the millions

One of the country’s most common signs of spring is that LO leaders complain about private executive salaries ahead of the salary settlement.

That private owners choose to pay skilled managers high salaries for good results falls heavily on the trade union movement.

The purpose is no more noble than that the LO pamps try to win public opinion so that the other party gives high salary supplements to the LO members.

That’s fair enough, that’s the game.

As early as this weekend, there could be a general strike if the wage settlement in the frontline subjects is not brokered to a solution.

To fire up the mood, LO secretary Steinar Krogstad has been sent into the war and calls the salaries of managers in society “perverse”.

Then it might be interesting to know what the LO leaders themselves earn, compared to the members who pay the dues and finance the guild.

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• LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik: NOK 2.3 million
• Trade union leader Mette Nord: NOK 2.0 million
• The joint organisation’s Mimmi Kvisvik: NOK 1.6 million
• Industri Energis Frode Alfheim: NOK 1.4 million
• Anne Berit Aker Hansen of the Norwegian Confederation of Business and Entertainment Workers: NOK 1.5 million
• Handel og Kontors Christopher Beckham: NOK 1.4 million
• Fellesforbundet’s Jørn Eggum: NOK 1.3 million
• The Swedish Workers’ Union’s Anita Paula Johansen: NOK 1.3 million
• The Electricity and IT Association’s Jan Olav Andersen: NOK 1.1 million
• Kjersti Barsok of the Norwegian Civil Service Association: NOK 1.0 million

(Source: Fri Fagbevegelsen’s review of the annual accounts from 2021, HK-Nytt, Fagbladet and Kapital. The income is the sum of salaries, known board positions, pension payments and other remunerations).

Two and three times more than the members

It is often a good principle for shop stewards that they know the members’ reality first hand. This does not apply to the salaries of the union leaders. The norm is that they earn both two and three times more for their office job than the members who are often nurses, cleaners and industrial workers.

In contrast to the managers in the private sector, the state – that is, ordinary taxpayers – also takes a large part of the bill for the millionaire salaries. The red-green government has greatly increased the trade union deduction – or the splicing layer for the LO tops’ million salaries – since they took over.

Tailored tax gift for LO

In 2024, union members can save tax by deducting NOK 8,000 from their income.

This earmarked deduction, which indirectly also finances the LO unions’ party support to the Labor Party, has increased from NOK 3,850 to NOK 8,000 under Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap).

With the maximum deduction, this means that NOK 1,840 of the membership fee is a tax gift from the state.

Million salaries at Youngstorget

There are probably not many places in Norway with a higher density of millionaires than at the top of the LO Borgen on Youngstorget. In addition to the union leaders, the so-called LO secretariat also earns relatively well.

According to Dagsavisen, the top eight received NOK 43,000 each in salary increases last summer, with effect from 1 January. This means that, according to tradition, they can expect a further pay rise from 1 January 2024 when the pay settlement is complete.

Nicely proposed by the so-called compensation committee, which is led by the Federation’s leader Jørn Eggum.

In contrast to the table above, this only includes the direct salary from LO. Any other benefits and positions come at the top – or as it is said in Dagsavisen “For the LO tops, board positions in the Sparebank 1 system also constitute a not inconsiderable side income.”.

• Sissel M. Skohaug: 1,371,134
• Steinar Krogstad: 1,371,134
• Julie Lødrup: 1,237,354
• Terje O. Olsson: 1,165,066
• Trude Tinnlund: 1,165,066
• Are Tomasgard: 1,165,066
• Kristin Sæther: 1,165,066

Definitely get what you deserve

I would assume that the compensation committee and the shop stewards in the National Organization believe that the LO secretariat does a good job, and that they deserve their salaries in the millions, even if the salaries are sky high above the membership. If the members are rational, then they probably think that after all they get more in return for the work the managers do.

It is roughly the same in private companies as well. There, it is the owners – that is, the shareholders – who set guidelines for the salaries of the top executives. If we assume that the owners are also rational, then they think that the managers do such an important job for value creation that they are worth their golden salaries.

If that is correct, then the employees also benefit from high management salaries which create good results and high salary supplements.

The rest of us can rejoice that both the union leaders, the LO secretariat and the top managers pay solid amounts of tax (Norway is not a tax haven for high earners who cannot take their wealth with them and move to Switzerland or Bø in Vesterålen).