Norway, Oslo: The supply of beer in Norway is soon to dry up because of a national strike by brewery workers, the BBC reported on May 20. Some 2,560 full-time brewery staff walked off the job to protest the growth in a temporary workforce that could undermine job security. The Norwegian Food and Allied Workers Union wants the ability to veto hiring decisions, but employer representatives have refused to budge.

"We cannot allow employees to have a veto right when it comes to these matters, said Carl Roenneberg, director for the Federation of Norwegian Food and Drink Industry. Beer drinkers are especially uneasy, as supplies can't be shipped in from neighboring Sweden or Denmark because Norwegian truck drivers are also on strike. The trucker strike has left most of the country's grocery stores empty of eggs, butter and cheese.

Arild Oliversen, a spokesman of the Norwegian Food and Allied Workers Union, told the BBC's World Business Report that he expected to win, but that the strike could take months. The separate truck driver strike has left most of Norway's grocery stores almost empty of eggs, butter and cheese.

21 May, 2004