Our purpose
Forskerforbundet is a politically independent trade union for students and employees at universities, university colleges, research institutes, hospitals, public administration, museums, archives and libraries, and industry. Forskerforbundet shall improve the pay and working conditions in the research and knowledge sector and safeguard the members' financial and professional interests.
Forskerforbundet is a responsible party in the work of creating good solutions for the benefit of the companies and to strengthen the Norwegian welfare society. Forskerforbundet safeguards the sustainability goals through its work to promote research, education, gender equality and a decent working life. Forskerforbundet shall act accountably, responsibly, and clearly in all situations.
Our core values
At the basis of Forskerforbundet's policy is respect for the individual's fundamental rights, freedom of expression and democratic rules of the game, and an acknowledgment that knowledge, research, and innovation are crucial to solving national and global challenges.
Academic freedom
Academic freedom is a fundamental prerequisite for all research, development work and artistic creative activity. The institutions within the research and knowledge sector are important carriers of culture and independent managers of knowledge. The public's trust in knowledge production depends on the institutions being professionally independent and open to debate, criticism, and expression of opinion. High ethical standards should be reflected in the work.
Research and education
Knowledge, research, and innovation are fundamental to solving social challenges, maintaining competitiveness, further developing the welfare society, and ensuring that individual people's resources and potential can be realised. Through independent, creative, and innovative research, society is enabled to understand the present, meet and create a future we do not yet know, and find answers to questions we do not yet have.
Equal access to education is a fundamental principle in Norwegian higher education. Education and competence are important for our self-understanding and culture. A high level of education in the population is of great social importance, contributes to economic development and makes the workforce more productive and adaptable. Higher education should be research and development-based, and provide students with experience in research throughout their education.
Knowledge-based public administration
Research-based knowledge is essential for good public administration and a future-oriented business sector. It is becoming increasingly important to distinguish between different sources of knowledge, and to invest in the knowledge that brings new insights and new solutions. A knowledge-based public administration and a future-oriented business sector require that public and private enterprises value research-based knowledge and know how to invest in it.
Organized working life and collective agreements
The Norwegian model of tripartite cooperation between the authorities, trade unions and employer organisations forms the foundation of the Norwegian welfare state. Co-determination at the company level, where union representatives are the link between employees and the employer, contributes to better solutions, high trust, high productivity, great adaptability, and a low level of conflict. Well-functioning schemes for employee participation are an important part of workplace democracy. Openness and transparency in decision-making processes ensure the possibility of participation and counteract emphasis being placed on extraneous considerations.
Collective agreements ensure collective negotiations and the development of pay and working conditions. Forskerforbundet's most important tool for ensuring the members' pay development and good working conditions is the development and establishment of collective agreements centrally and locally.
Knowledge workers shall be guaranteed safe working conditions. There shall be no discrimination on any grounds. Permanent employment and job security are of great importance both for the individual and for the professional and working environment of the enterprises.
Our organization
Forskerforbundet must be organized in an appropriate manner, with the right expertise at all levels and with good arenas for collaboration in the association. Forskerforbundet emphasizes being a transparent organization that promotes a culture of openness between all parts of the association. Forskerforbundet is a sustainable and environmentally conscious organization that, among other things, works to reduce its own climate footprint. Forskerforbundet shall have a conscious rhetoric in matters of salary, knowledge management, and education and research policy that embraces the diversity among our members.
