– Strike, or the possibility of strike, is the main reason why we have the Norwegian model everyone brags about, says Isak Lekve.
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On Friday, the 36-year-old comes with a small book which, according to the title, reveals the secret behind the Norwegian model.
Bergenseren is a sociologist and researcher at De Facto, which is a knowledge center for trade unionists.
He has also written a number of articles here in the newspaper about working life.
Earns on strike
Lekve refers to Stein Lier Hansen, leader of the employers’ association Norsk Industri, who before this year’s wage settlement stated that “it is always (is) harmful with a strike, no one benefits from it.”
– Of course, there are some who benefit from it, says Lekve.
– Strike gives workers wage increases and other victories, he states.
Will shatter myths
– With this release, I try to challenge two myths.
He thinks the media mainly paints a slightly condescending picture of acting workers.
– When you write about strikes in the media, it is always with the twist “How you are hit”. I turn it all upside down by pointing out that strikes are a democratizing tool that allows more people to decide over conditions in working life. This is how I want the book to provide self-respect and an experience that strikes are a fair tool, among both shop stewards who have to make the decision about strikes, ordinary workers and other sympathizers.
He thinks the media should rather write “This is how the strike serves you”.
– For strikes is really good for most people, he says – and points out that strikes such as the bus strike, the Foodora strike and the strike in Sekkingstad had great support in the population.
The Norwegian model
– The second myth is about what makes Norway a good country to live, work and live in, says Lekve, who also has a teaching background from the universities of Bergen and Stavanger.
Our prosperity is often explained through the concept of “the Norwegian model”. The research foundation Fafo emphasizes three components when defining the Norwegian model:
Secure financial management, public welfare and an organized working life.
The author believes that Norway would have been more like the United States if the workers in this country had not had the opportunity to act for better working conditions and wages.
Strike secures power
– The job security there is almost non-existent, the paid holidays are short, there are weak trade unions and thus low wages. The differences in society are thus much greater, says Lekve to BA.
He believes that strikes secure employees power when they make demands, and points out that Fafo and other researchers, who work with the Norwegian model, often point to the equal power relationship between the parties in working life as an explanation for the Norwegian model’s success.
– It appears as if the Norwegian model is something on which there is cross-party agreement, but I show that the model is on the contrary the result of conflict – and does not have as much support as one gets the impression.
Must fight
Lekve thinks a paradox emerges here.
– To get to the negotiating table, one must first fight. Conflict and cooperation are not opposites, but in working life something that presupposes each other. This is how we can say that a strike is the secret behind the Norwegian model, and with it crucial to ensure a fairer working life, says Lekve
The book is published by Manifest publishing house.
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