OSLO: Norway’s labour unions have increased their views of how much wages will grow by in 2018 to 3.0 percent, a quarterly survey commissioned by the country’s central bank showed on Thursday, up from 2.8 percent in the previous survey in November.
Employers’ organisations, meanwhile, expect 2.7 percent wage growth in 2018, unchanged from November, giving an average wage growth expectations between the two groups of 2.9 percent in 2018.
Norway’s annual wage negotiations will start next month. A publicly appointed commission will on Monday announce by how much wages roses by last year, which will form the basis for this year’s talks.
A key demand from the unions will be a rise in real wages following several years of moderation when the economy was slowing down.
Thursday’ survey also showed inflation expectations among households for the next 12 months were down 0.9 percentage points to 2.0 percent, while business leaders cut their expectations of inflation by 0.3 percentage points to 2.2 percent.
