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Statistics about

Trade union members and strikes

The statistics show the number of trade union members, members in employers’ associations and work stoppages (strikes and lockouts). It is based on voluntary reporting from the trade unions and the employers’ associations.

Updated: 14 May 2024
Next update: 29 April 2025

Selected figures from this statistics

  • Strikes and lockouts
    Strikes and lockouts
    202120222023Change in the last two years
    Work stoppages1255-7
    Wage earners in work stoppages23 99713 86125 5751 578
    Working days lost116 250188 23075 350-40 900
    Explanation of symbols
  • Members of trade union organisations
    Members of trade union organisations
    202120222023Change in the last year1
    All associations of wage earners1 972 8682 017 2662 061 33244 066
    The Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions978 338992 7631 007 45114 688
    Confederation of Vocational Unions230 348235 649243 3177 668
    Confederation of Unions for Professionals388 220396 330398 2011 871
    Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations243 293255 006265 42410 418
    Other associations of wage earners132 669137 518146 9399 421
    1It varies somewhat from year to year which trade unions respond to the survey, especially when it comes to those that are not affiliated with any of the four major main federations. Change in figures for the group "Other associations of wage earners" must therefore be interpreted with caution.
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

The information under «About the statistics» was last updated 18 December 2023.

Employers' associations.

Employers' Associations are understood as associations that assist their members in wage agreements and wage negotiations. Organizations that limit their activities to questions of a purely professional nature are not included in the statistics.

Trade union organizations.

Nation-wide associations for wage earners that assist their members in wage agreements and wage negotiations. Organizations that limit their activities to questions of a purely professional nature are not included in the statistics. The number of members of nation-wide associations for wage earners includes all registered members and includes non-working students, pensioners etc.

Employees in the employers' associations enterprises.

The number of employees in the enterprises includes all employees regardless when during the year they are employed.

Members of trade union organizations.

The number of members of nation-wide associations for wage earners includes all registered members and includes non-working students, pensioners etc. at the end of the year.

Work stoppages.

The statistics on labour disputes or work stoppages of at least one day's duration per year is computed from the number of trade union federations or confederations that have had groups of employees involved in a work stoppage. Strikes that are discontinued and later resumed for the same reason count as one strike unless the interruption lasts more than two months. A dispute resumed after more than two months counts as a new strike. A dispute that occurs one year and continues in the next is included in both years, i.e. it is counted as two strikes. There are two types of work stoppages, strike or lock-out. A work stoppage defines as a temporary work stoppage by a group of employees (strike) or one or several employers (lock-out) to force a demand. The following types of strikes are covered: legal strikes, illegal strikes, sympathy strikes, political or protest strikes, general strikes, work stoppages started by employees and rotating strikes. A Lockout is the employer's response to strikes. A lockout implies that workers are excluded from work until the parties have agreed on how to resolve the discrepancy.

Wage earners

Numbers of wage earners who are involved in work stoppages means permanent employees, temporary employees, seasonal workers and part-time employees. A part-time employee is counted as full-time employee. Employees there are absent from work owing to illness or are on sick-leave and unpaid family members are not included in the statistics.

The duration of a conflict is measured by the number of lost working days. Taking into account that not all strikers would have been at work every day of the week during the conflict, the number of lost working days is multiplied by 5/7. This is considered to give a better estimate of lost working days, because not all strike days is counted as lost working days. Prior to 2018, this correction was not applied, and the number of assumed working days per week for the relevant group in the conflict was used to calculate lost working days, without further corrections.

Industry is coded according to the Standard Industrial Classification, SIC2007.

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