"The wage level in the public sector must be competitive"

The 2025 wage settlement is an interim settlement, and it is only the economy that is in focus. The wage level in the public sector must be competitive in order to recruit and retain engineers and technologists. In NITO's needs survey, 56 per cent of the respondents in the central government answer that it is difficult to find qualified engineers.

– We see that real wages are picking up again after ten weak years, and NITO's members in the state will take part in that increase," says Botnen.

As a society, we are in troubled times, and the outlook ahead means that the state must be able to compete for, and retain, the best people. 

In the "Government Employee Survey 2024", a large majority of respondents state that competitive compensation (i.e. salary) and benefits are the most important things to focus on in order to create an attractive workplace. We see the same tendency in Opinion's "Young 2025" survey, where "High salary" comes clearly at the top of the criteria for choosing a workplace.

In NITO's latest member survey, employees in the state answer that they expect a salary increase of 6.1 percent this year.

– If the state wants to attract both experienced engineers and technologists, as well as be an attractive alternative for young people, wages must be a real tool that companies can use," says Botnen.

He emphasizes that it requires both that you are willing to set aside enough money for a good settlement, and that you organize the settlement so that it hits where the need is. This means, among other things, that the enterprises, in cooperation with the local union representatives, must be given full freedom to distribute the salary funds locally.

– This means, among other things, that the enterprises, in cooperation with the local union representatives, must be given full freedom to distribute the salary funds locally.

In the state, the central negotiations more often end up in mediation than not, which threatens the entire principle of free negotiations.

–The rulings from the National Salary Tribunal last year were clear that negotiations should be resolved by the parties in the negotiation room, and this is a clear expectation from NITO.

– It is the local parties who know what their needs are. Through local, collective bargaining, they can target the money to solve the company's need for expertise," says the head of the collective bargaining committee.