Tripartite "superpower" to help roll out AI in Norwegian working life

The article is a Nordic comparison of how AI is being brought into working life. Its title points to a tripartite arrangement in Norway, but the text provided covers mainly what is happening in Denmark and the other Nordic countries, and it gives no details of the Norwegian agreement itself.

In Denmark, the union HK Danmark has launched a practical model of seven questions. Employees and union representatives are meant to use it as a template before AI tools are introduced in a department. Danish unions such as HK Danmark and IDA have asked for national guidelines, but so far the approach has been to develop ethical guidelines and to direct demands at employers at the level of the individual company.

No other Nordic country is currently planning a national tripartite agreement like Norway's, which involves government, employers and unions. The Nordic model is strong in these countries too, but for now they are tackling the challenges of AI differently from Norway.

For the EU members Denmark, Sweden and Finland, a priority is implementing the EU AI Act, which sets requirements for the use of AI tools in the workplace. Denmark also has the AI Competence Pact, a large national public-private partnership. Trade unions representing white-collar workers, among others, take part in it to strengthen AI skills. Its goal is for more than one million Danes to improve their AI competence by 2028.

The picture is of a split in the region. Norway is pursuing a joint national arrangement among the social partners, while Denmark relies on union-built tools, company-level demands and a skills partnership, and the EU countries lean on binding EU rules.