• Norway's large oil holdings led to comprehensive protections for workers in the national petroleum industry.oil rig at sunset image by Alan James from Fotolia.com
  
  Norway has a long history of strong labor and organized labor maintains heavy representation throughout the economy and politics. Of the 2.4 million people in the Norwegian workforce, roughly 60% are represented by the national umbrella union, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (known as LO).
  
  

Work Week, Leave and Vacation

• The Norwegian work week is 37.5 hours, capped at eight hours per day. Employees are given four weeks and one day of paid vacation every year. Employers pay for up to 16 days of sick leave, after which, if the employee continues to be ill, the state pays sick leave up to the equivalent of about U.S. $75,000 annually. There is no federally-established minimum wage, but wages are high in comparison to the rest of Europe. In 2010, the Ministry of Labor found that on average, manufacturing wages were 46% higher than Norway’s trading partners.
  
  

Unions

• A distinct majority of working Norwegians belong to a union. Unions, the right to collective bargaining and the right to association are enshrined by Norwegian law. Strong anti-discrimination measures are in place to protect unionized workers, union activities and organizers. Private companies are required by the Joint Stock Companies Act to have labor interests represented on the Board of Directors and mandatory mediation is required in all labor disputes.
  
  

Anti-Discrimination Act

• Passed in 2006, the Anti-discrimination Act is designed to prevent discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, religion, national origin, descent, skin color, language or belief. The Act establishes the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, a United Nations convention from 1965, as Norwegian law. Furthermore, the Act sets out guidelines for implementing measures to ensure non-discriminatory recruiting, promotion, pay and other practices within private companies employing more than 50 people and in the public sector.
  
  

Pensions

• Pensions are almost universally available through both employers (required by most employers in accordance with the 2006 Pension Act) and the National Insurance Scheme (similar to U.S. Social Security). The retirement age is 67, and an individual must have 40 years of full employment to claim their industry’s full pension.