Societal trends and skills shortages pose challenges for wage growth in Spektrum
The challenge of being able to give the employees of Spektrum increased wages lies in a number of societal trends and economic factors, was the message from Anne Turid Wikdahl, development director at Spekter, during NITO's central collective bargaining conference this week.
Wikdahl pointed out that demographic changes with more elderly people and fewer people in work are causing a major shortage of labour.
Recognizable societal trends
But also that the green shift, security challenges and the need for skills are creating pressure on the labour market. Wikdahl also said that the frontline union model, which regulates wage formation, is under pressure as a result. And especially from the public sector, where many believe that the model is not adapted to their needs.
- She points to current and recognizable societal trends that we also recognize. Much of the factual basis and reports Wikdahl referred to, which have pointed to the skills shortage in Norway, have been known for several years, points out Mette Sevaldson, chair of the NITO Spekter collective bargaining committee .
Lack of competence
The skills shortage is no longer something we can solve in the future, but something we are in the middle of now," she points out.
- Of course, it plays out differently around the country and in different sectors, but engineers are generally very sought after and this must also be shown in the wage settlements.
Low supply of labour
The generally low supply of labour leads to pressure on wages, Wikdahl told the NITO Spekter conference, and that it is a concern from the employers' side that a wage-price spiral may arise. This will have a negative impact on the Norwegian economy.
One solution could be to increase the labour supply by getting more people outside the labour market into work, prioritising the right skills and implementing new technology that can reduce the need for labour, she believed.
Must think long-term
It is demanding to achieve big things in every single wage settlement, says Mette Sevaldson. Our local union representatives must think long-term together with the employer to find solutions on how to recruit and retain the requested personnel.
"We at NITO, both centrally and locally, must work on this both in the individual wage settlements and otherwise outside the wage settlements," Sevaldson concludes.
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