Every Friday in June, Norwegians got into the habit of withdrawing as much cash as they could from ATMs. They did so because they were living in fear that the bank unions would strike and the employers would respond by imposing a lock-out on the 24,000 workers, effectively leaving the country without a functioning financial system.
Just as it looked as if the confrontation between the unions and the banks over the rights to negotiate pension and insurance benefits was reaching meltdown, the government intervened, saying it would introduce legislation to force the two sides into mediation.
