Salary developments are affected by the corona crisis

2020 has been the year of the corona pandemic. And in a year of lockdowns, working from home, and a major sense of insecurity for several industries, this year's average salary increase lands at 3.0 pct. in the private sector. Government employees have received an average increase of 3.7 pct., while our members employed in municipalities and regions have been given an average increase of 4.5 pct. In the same period, the rate of inflation has been at 0.6 pct.

“The labour market for engineers, science graduates, and IT professionals is not immune to a global crisis like the corona pandemic. Some industries have been unaffected by the crisis, which is of course positive. If we look at the average numbers, our members have together received a sensible increase in real wages. But there are also members whose salary rate development has been less positive in this annus horribilis,” says Morten Thiessen, Chairman of IDA’s Council of Employees.

“We know from our legal counsellors that employments are moving forward, so the labour market has in no way frozen. However, the salary negotiations have come to a halt in some places. A small third experience that negotiations are either postponed or cancelled. It is always problematic when salary negotiations are postponed or cancelled, and we are very aware of this issue. But if the customers are hesitant to place new orders and companies are struggling, there is little that can be done at this moment. Employees and employers have a mutual interest in getting the wheels rolling again. That’s why the key issue is to get back on the road again,” says Morten Thiessen.

But regardless of the cause of cancelled or postponed salary negotiations, Morten Thiessen reminds employers that IDA’s members expect to be able to negotiate their salary soon again.

“If employers expect members to accept postponements or cancellations this time round, then we would like to remind them to be equally solidary when the good times return. If we are to be understanding about the difficult times we are currently experiencing, then we expect to receive fair shares of the profit we help to create, when the good times are back. We are confident that before long, the skills and knowledge our members have of IT, science and tech are in demand in most industries,” he says.