Norway Labor Min Calls Parties In Oil Conflict To Meeting

Norway's minister of labor has called oil companies and unions to meet with her Friday in a bid to resolve a 13-day-old strike that is threatening to escalate next week, the Ministry confirmed Friday.

The meeting, which is to be held at 1600 GMT, comes after Statoil ASA and other companies represented by Norway's Oil Industry Association threatened to lock out workers and shut down production on the Norwegian continental shelf starting Tuesday in the hope of forcing an end to the strike that has put upward pressure on oil prices and crimped revenue.

Oil companies and three unions representing offshore workers --Safe, Industri Energi and Lederne-- have been negotiating on wages but are clashing over employee demands for better pension terms.

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