As the result of a dairy strike in Norway, the country is losing two million litres of milk every day. According to reports in Aftenposten, continued strike action is likely to hurt Tine, the largest producer of dairy products in Norway and may affect Norwegians desire to drink milk on a more long-term basis.

The majority of the milk being poured down the drain was destined to end up as cheese. Cheese production in Norway has ground to a halt as a result of the strike.

Dairy employers ended an agreement with dairy workers in 1996 and since then workers have been displeased with changes made to their pension rights.

Dairy workers have also been adversely affected by the strike. Researchers believe the average worker is losing approximately USD 100 every day they don’t work. Farmers have also been affected as Tine is owned by farmers in Norway.

If the strike continues much longer, dairies may be forced to close; the closure of dairies could occur as soon as the weekend, leaving Norwegians with little milk in the chillers.

Last Saturday the Finnish Airline Pilots’ Association instituted a ban on overtime hours for pilots, according to reports in the Finnish news agency, STT. The ban forced Finland’s largest airline to cancel three flights over the weekend.

According to statements released by the nation’s flagship carrier, no further cancellations would be necessary.

Passengers flying with Finnair on Monday were also affected by the weekend cancellations; however the airline successfully booked seats for them on alternative flights.

Finnair is currently engaged in discussions with the pilots’ union over pay and working conditions. The decision not to work overtime is the result of a breakdown in communication between the two groups.

Communication resumed on Friday last week when Juhani Salonius, the national conciliator, stepped in to supervise a new round of discussions.

This is not the first time Salonius has intervened in union disputes with Finnair. In November 2006, he helped mediate a dispute over Finnair’s intention to hire 500 new cabin crewmembers for its Asian routes through Aero Airlines, a company which pays its employees 30 per cent less than Finnair’s regular flight crew. The cabin crew went on strike for two days and finally accepted a settlement proposed by Salonius.

Finnair is considered the second-safest airline of all time and is headquartered in Vantaa Finland. The airline’s main hub is at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. In 2006, Finnair reported 8.8 million passengers on their planes and offered 15 domestic destinations and 55 international destinations.

Both Sweden and Denmark were plagued with strikes last week as workers in the health sector demanded better wages, according to reports on the World Socialist website.

Public sector health care workers in Denmark are striking for the first time in over a decade. The dispute started on April 16th and has grown to encompass nurses, laboratory technicians, nurses’ aides, physiotherapists and day care workers, all of whom are insisting on a 15 per cent increase in salary over the next three years.

In Sweden, nurses began taking action on 21st April when 2,500 workers went on strike. Another 900 joined them three days later. The walkouts have affected all areas of the country with nurses in 40 municipalities affected.

Last month in Finland 12,000 nurses almost quit in order to secure their pay rise. The issue was resolved by an agreement to increase wages by 28 per cent over the next two years.

Danish Finance Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen predicted that the government would be intervening in Denmark soon. “It’s absolutely essential that people understand that they need to restrain these wage expectations. The danger of slower growth is greater if pay demands are too high,” he said.

He said, “If we’re not vigilant and don’t show an intelligent approach to these areas, we’ll lose competitiveness.”