FORNEBU, Norway -- The EL & IT Forbundet (Electricians' and IT workers' Union) at Telenor has authorised a strike affecting approx. 455 of its members in Norway from 10 May 2006. The strike will affect various units of Telenor and Opplysningen 1881 (Directory Services) all over the country, but the bulk of the employees on strike are based in the Oslo/Akershus region.

The strike will initially involve selected employees at a total of nine Telenor companies in Oslo/Akershus, Gjøvik, Bergen, Namsos, Rørvik, Kristiansand and Stavanger.

The strike could cause delays to supplies of broadband, mobile invoices going out to customers, new subscriptions as well as changes to subscription plans, and there could also be delays at customer services and Opplysningen 1881.

Tariff negotiations between Telenor and the EL & IT Forbundet broke down on 21 April. The parties were summoned to the state mediator on Monday 8 May at 12:00 CET for further negotiations, but were unable to come to an agreement within the deadline of midnight Tuesday 9 May.

"We are concerned because this is a strike that primarily hits our customers. The demands that have been put forward relate to basic employer rights, e.g. provisions for working hours, hired labour and temporary staff. Wages have not been an issue during these negotiations. We register that we have been unable to reach an agreement during the negotiations, and that the EL & IT Forbundet has decided to call a strike on this basis," said Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources, Bjørn Magnus Kopperud.

Telenor employs approximately 11,000 people in Norway.

Telenor Group (Nasdaq: TELN)