Trade unions – work for your rights in the workplace (Fagforeninger)
: 17. December 2024
Most people have heard of unions, but not everyone knows what they do. A little information about them is provided below.
Employee organisations (as trade unions are also called) safeguard employee rights, work to secure higher wages, and help those in disagreement with their employer.
Negotiate pay and benefits
About half of all employees in Norway are members of a trade union. In other words, you will find organised employees (members of a trade union) in many large and small workplaces. It is common for workplaces to have local union branches with a leader, who you can ask questions and talk to about membership. You can also join a union on the organisation’s website or contact the employee representative in your workplace.
Cheaper insurance and legal assistance
Many trade unions also offer cheaper insurance and discounts on other benefits. You can get help from the union’s lawyers if you are mistreated at work.
Does it cost anything to join a trade union?
If you become a member of a trade union, you pay a small part of your salary to the organisation (called membership dues). The price varies slightly in the different organisations, but is usually between 1 and 1.5 per cent of what you earn.
Tax deduction for membership dues
If you are in paid employment, you can claim a tax deduction for membership dues paid to a trade union. The dues are tax deductible each year. This is usually stated in your tax return. If the deduction has not been included, you can add it yourself. The Norwegian Tax Administration has an overview of how much of the membership dues are deductible.
- Confederation of Norwegian Trade Unions (LO)LO is Norway’s largest employee organisation with one million members. It is made up of 24 different unions. LO has information in several languages on its website (English, Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, French and German).www.lo.no
- Unio (Confederation of Unions for Professionals)Unio is the largest trade union for members with higher education, from a university college or university. Unio has 400,000 members, in 14 unions. Unio has information in English on its website.www.unio.no
- The Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (Akademikerne)Akademikerne is an organisation for employees with a long university college or university education. It has 250,000 members, in 13 member organisations.www.akademikerne.no
- Confederation of Norwegian Trade Unions (YS)The Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) has about 220,000 members, in 11 unions.ys.no