OSLO, 27 October 2004 — Norway’s offshore oil workers are set to return to work today, ending a four-month strike over wages that has hampered production in the country, the world’s third-largest oil exporter.
The oil workers’ union behind the strike, the OFS, said yesterday it would suspend all strike calls against the Norwegian Shipowners Association (NSA), which includes groups that serve the oil industry.
The OFS announcement came one day after the Norwegian government said it intended to intervene in the conflict and impose arbitration on the two sides in order to prevent a total interruption of Norwegian oil production. “We had to give in to the government’s wishes,” OFS Chairman Terje Nustad told AFP.
The compulsory arbitration was a response to the NSA’s threat of a lock-out, which would have completely shut down production on the Norwegian continental shelf as of mid-November. On Monday the government asked the parties to resume work immediately.
NSA complied with the request and lifted its lock-out threat, but OFS initially said it would continue its protest until the last minute, that is, until the imposed arbitration begins after a special law is adopted by parliament, probably next week. But “most of us finally said that there was no point in continuing and that we could return to work today,” Nustad said. They are expected to return to work as of midnight (2200 GMT) today, OFS said.