Norway oil wage talks break down, will go to mediator

Norway oil workers and their employers will head to mediation in an effort to resolve their differences.

OSLO, May 30 (Reuters) – Wage talks between Norwegian oil companies and their employees broke down on Monday and the two sides must now go to a state mediator to try to resolve their differences, the Industri Energi labour union said on Monday.

If no agreement is found when talks resume, workers could eventually go on strike. No date has been set for the state-led mediation.

In 2012, a 16-day strike among some of Norway’s oil workers cut the country’s output of crude by about 13 percent and its natural gas production by about four percent.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)