Train service in southern Norway was getting back to normal during the weekend, after locomotive engineers and state train operator Vy agreed on a new labour pact. They’d been ordered into mandatory arbitration on Friday.
State mediator Mats Ruland could announce settlement of the nearly month-long strike after talks extended late into the night. He expressed relief that “everyone who depends on the trains won’t be affected (by the strike) any longer.”
The leader of the locomotive engineers’ labour organization claimed they had won acceptance for their “most important demands” including pay equal to that of engineers on the high-speed Airport Express Train (Flytoget) that runs between Oslo and Drammen. It’s being taken over by Vy next year, and its engineers have earned higher wages than those on Vy.
From January 1, reports state broadcaster NRK, base pay will be the same at both Vy and Flytoget. The union also claimed its engineers, who will receive an annual pay raise of NOK 36,000, will now have more influence over their work schedules, with pay hikes averaging 4.4 percent.
Vy expected to have most of its trains back on schedule by late Saturday.
NewsinEnglish.no staff