Risk of duty-free strike from Tuesday – the trade union’s closure notice is criticised

There was a breakdown in the negotiations between Virke and Handel og Kontor on 11 April. Thus the Ombudsman takes over.

– HK Norway meets Virke at the Riksmekleren on 28 April. If there is no agreement, HK Norway will withdraw its members from TRN at Oslo Airport, Flesland and Værnes. As a result, duty-free sales will close at these locations, HK Norway writes in a press release.

Travel Retail Norway’s deputy managing director reacts to this formulation. Haakon Dagestad tells Dagbladet Børsen that strike cancellation does not mean closure.

– HK Norway has apologized to us for that press release. They have no basis for saying that we should close. We have no plans to close. We hope the mediation goes well, but even in the event of a strike, we will do everything we can to keep the shops open, he says.

The plan to keep the shops open is to have non-union workers at work.

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Can mediate after the deadline

Confederation leader Christopher Beckham in HK Norway tells Børsen that it is not the employee organization that decides whether the shops should close.

– But we take members out on strike where we have great fighting power, and the aim is to shut down the companies, he says.

HK Norway emphasizes that the mediation deadline may well be exceeded.

– If the parties do not agree by the end of the deadline at midnight on the night of 30 April, there will be a strike from the beginning of working hours on Tuesday 30 April. In recent years, it has often been mediated well beyond the deadline, and this may happen this time as well, says the press release.

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The sample includes just over 4,256 HK members distributed across businesses across the country.

Possible strike in grocery stores

In addition to TRN, HK Norway announces that many stores in Norgesgruppen and Coop will be withdrawn, including Meny, Kiwi and Coop Extra.

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HK Norway has also organized within the construction supply chains. They warn that they will take out a number of Byggmakker and Løvenskiold.

– We take the companies where we have members and fighting power. Our members work in shops we all see and use every day. Many people will probably notice when the local Coop store or the entire duty free at Gardermoen closes, says Beckham.

The organisation’s most important demand is, as with most others, increased purchasing power, in addition to a proper competence reform and increased Sunday allowance.