Norway unions, employers agree wage deal, averting strike

Norway's private-sector trade unions reached a deal on Sunday with employers over wages, pensions and other compensation, averting the outbreak of major strikes, a state-appointed mediator said after five days of negotiations.

Almost 35,000 employees had been scheduled to go on strike if no agreement was found, and a conflict could eventually have escalated to include more than 200,000 workers.

A strike would immediately have idled aluminium smelters, fertilizer plants, ship yards and chemical factories, and could eventually have been extended to hit output of oil and gas, unions said ahead of the talks.