Strikes: latest developments
Photo: Eggert
Two Icelandic unions – whose members include nurses, radiologists and vets – are currently on strike over pay, while another six have announced similar industrial action.
Iceland Monitor has put together a short overview of the latest developments:
BHM and nurses
Members of the Icelandic Association of Academics (BHM) – including vets and healthcare workers – have been on strike since early April, while nurses downed tools on 27 May.
Further talks with the two unions were held on Saturday, with little significant progress reported.
Chairman of the Icelandic Nurse’s Association, Ólafur G. Skúlason, has indicated that the 18% pay rise currently on the table is “nowhere near enough”. An 18% pay rise would bring the starting wage of a nurse to ISK 360,000 (approx. €2,400), just ISK 60,000 higher that the private-sector minimum wage.
No further talks with the two unions are currently in the pipeline.
The craftsmen unions
A group of six unions representing some 10,000 marine engineers, metal technicians, construction and industrial workers, electricians, caterers, printers and hairdressers voted last Monday to come out on strike firstly on 10-16 June, then indefinitely from 24 August.
Talks were also held with these unions in a mammoth eleven-hour session on Saturday, with mixed results.
Construction and industrial workers (union name: Samiðn), printers (Grafía/FBM) and hairdressers (Félag hársnyrtisveina) have all agreed to postpone their six-day strike to 22 June. There is some optimism after Saturday that a deal will be struck before this time.
Negotiations collapsed, however, with the electrical and electronic engineers (RSÍ), caterers (MATVÍS), and marine engineers and metal technicians (VM), and their strike action is still planned for Wednesday 10 June.
Iceland Monitor reported last week that the RSÍ strike may cause some flight disruption.
1,100 MATVÍS members – including chefs, waiters, bakers and meat workers – are due to down tools on Wednesday. This is predicted to have a profound impact on catering operations around the country. Hotels and restaurants may have to turn customers away and the Icelandic Travel Industry Association is said to be “extremely concerned” about the effects of the planned strike.
