Norwegian Union Experience Shared at Ukrainian Public Servants’ Forum

On October 3, the national Forum of local leaders of the State Employees Union of Ukraine was held in Kyiv. The event was supported by the Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees (Fagforbundet) and gathered over 80 local union leaders from across Ukraine.

Participants found the Norwegian bargaining model and the organization of local union chapters, presented by Hans-Cristian Stenestø and Pål Skarsbak from Fagforbundet, particularly interesting. The speakers not only provided an overview of the Norwegian system but also made their presentations practical and impactful, emphasizing the roots of union power and negotiation strength.

Tristan Masat, Board Chair of Labor Initiatives, also gave a short introduction at the event. In his comments, Tristan emphasized the need to develop grassroots unionism—that bargaining power emerged from the strength of the membership, a mobilized membership being better able to support successful bargaining for workers. Additionally, Tristan stressed the importance of international solidarity, especially the applicability of Norwegian experience and expertise to Ukraine, and shared his experience working in this field across numerous countries.

The forum was co-hosted by the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, demonstrating a successful partnership between the union and government officials. For example, the State Employees Union of Ukraine, in collaboration with the Agency and the Higher School of Public Administration, is actively working to train civil servants on practical tools for social dialogue in their daily work. Specifically, two training programs have been developed in collaboration with the union to enhance civil servants’ understanding of European standards for social dialogue.