Challenging choices before the salary settlement

Prioritizing the demands for this year's wage negotiations is probably the most important task for the union representatives who meet at the representative council meeting. On the second day of the meeting, the entire day was set aside for preparations for the wage negotiations.

Prior to the meeting, 26 of YTF's departments had sent lists of prioritized demands. A total of 106 demands had been submitted before the meeting.

After an update on the financial framework for this year's wage settlement, presented by YS' chief economist Nina Skrove Falch, YTF's head of negotiations Marius Træland went through the demands submitted by the departments.

The requirements were then discussed in groups, and each group made its priorities.

ENGAGED: Head of YTF's region in Østfold, Espen Hult, participated actively in the discussion about what should be prioritized. Photo: Øyvind Henriksen

This year's wage settlement is a so-called main settlement. This means that both wages and the content of the collective agreement can be negotiated. Before the discussion began in the groups, Træland reminded us of some important frameworks for the negotiations.

– Everyone who has a cost is considered part of the framework in the settlement. If we want to make changes to the collective agreement, it is not just a question of what we want most. The question is whether this requirement is so important that we are willing to sacrifice a little of the general supplement to get it in place, said Træland.

In 2024 – the last time there was a main settlement – ​​the message from the council of representatives was clear. In the negotiations on the bus industry agreement, the most important thing was to put in place a high general supplement. In addition, the practice of unpaid breaks (of less than 60 minutes) in split shifts wanted to end, and there was a desire to give express bus drivers the same weekend supplements as other bus drivers.

– These were clear demands that were prioritized at the representative council meeting before the negotiations we had in 2024, and these were the demands that the negotiations in the bus industry settlement were about. We closed the split-shift gap and the express bus drivers received the same bonuses as other bus drivers, says Træland.

He believes the result in 2024 shows how input from the grassroots and further from the representative council meeting is prioritized in the negotiations.

– The negotiating committees listen to what is said in the discussions at the representative council meeting. What is prioritized at the meeting is what will be given high priority in the negotiations going forward.