Activities and tools

ACTIVITIES
Our core activities are centred around:

• Promoting legislation and industrial policies that are conducive to a prosperous business climate and ensuring that framework conditions for business and industry are consistent with this goal

• Representing employers in collective bargaining

• Providing services and advising member companies on a wide range of issues, e.g. legal assistance in court cases, legal and practical help in collective bargaining and intepretation of agreements, advice on European legislation and policies, public procurement, trade policy, etc. Long-term goals include promoting the competitiveness, profitability and increased internationalisation of Norwegian companies 


KEY TOOLS 
Here are some of the main tools:

• Basic agreement (Hovedavtalen)
First introduced in 1935 between NHO and the LO (Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions) and subsequently revised every fourth year, this collective agreement covers employer and employee rights and obligations in their daily interaction at enterprise level, as well as conflict solving procedures. It is often referred to as the “Constitution of working life” in Norway.

• Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining agreements exist in order to regulate standard wage rates and working conditions. They give both employers and employees obligations and rights over and above those stated by Norwegian law. For blue-collar workers bargaining takes place at a sector level by the respective trade union and industry associations, while bargaining on behalf of white-collar workers is negotiated by the NHO with cross-sector validity. These agreements are reviewed every two years.

• NHO`s economic survey
Produced twice a year, this detailed review of the Norwegian economy in its international context, produced by the NHO, is widely accepted by the business and political community as a valuable reference tool.

• Policy documents
The NHO regularly researches and produces reports and analyses on a variety of topics such as Norway`s ability to compete, industrial policy, energy and environmental issues, working hours, wage negotiation, the impact of EU expansion, evaluation of the EEA agreement and input to WTO negotiations.

• Conferences
- The NHO Annual Conference is the most important meeting point for business, politics, media, academia in Norway and attracts 900 top-level participants such as outstanding thinkers, entrepreneurs and politicians worldwide.
- The NHO Small Business Conference is the most important annual meeting place where leaders of SMEs meet with politicians for dialogue and discussions on items particularly related to SME policy.