Mediation proposal put forth and strikes and work ban postponed for a week
Heimir Már Pétursson who got the warring parties to shake hands on air got a big kiss from the acting state mediator for his part of bringing people back to the negotiating table. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
Ástráður Haraldsson, the state mediator, has put forward a new mediation proposal in the Efling Union and SA dispute. This was stated at his press conference today at 10 AM. Simultaneously, all the work bans and strikes by both Efling Union and SA will be postponed until the outcome of the vote is known.
At the meeting, Haraldsson said that this mediation proposal would replace the mediation proposal that had previously been submitted. He said that he had reached an agreement with representatives of both Efling and SA that this new proposal would be processed by both parties. Therefore, the same problem should not arise as occurred with the first mediation proposal when Efling refused to hand over its voter registration list.
Ástráður Haraldsson, the acting state mediator, was a happy camper today after announcing that a mediation proposal had been put forth in the dispute. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
Retroactive to 1 st of November 2022
According to the mediation proposal, contracts are expected to be retroactive to November 1 st 2022, as was the case in so-called SGS contracts, with other unions. This is despite SA’s earlier words that there would be no retroactive effect in the event of strikes.
Haraldsson also said that the proposal was in all significant aspects as previously submitted by the Office, i.e. it puts forward a proposal for a 6.75% pay rise and the same benefit environment as that in the SGS contracts. However, there would be a change in the title for general staff in hotels and the ranking of pay categories according to that. Otherwise, there would be the same agreement as had been put forward before.
Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir and people from Efling Union leave today after the announcement of the mediation proposal. mbl.is/Kristinn Magnússon
Voting starts on Friday
Voting on the mediation proposal will take place on the website of the state mediator, starting at noon on Friday. The mediation will end next Wednesday at 10:00 AM and will be concluded shortly thereafter. Haraldsson said a brief presentation of the mediation proposal’s content will also be available on the website of the official mediation committee.
Alongside the presentation of the mediation proposal, SA and Efling have agreed to postpone strikes and the work ban from today until the outcome of the vote is known next week.
More about the communication and the will to negotiate
Haraldsson stated that the dispute had been difficult and tested the endurance of the parties in various ways. He said he wanted to thank them specifically for being able to agree on this approach, but noted that the agreement that had now been reached and had been in the process of being reached in the last few days had not directly been linked to the content of the mediation proposal, but to the relations between the parties in this working environment. He stated that the dispute had been concluded yesterday.
Halldór Benjamín Þorbergsson, CEO of SA, at the press conference today. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
He told mbl.is that it would be oversimplifying the matter to say that he had managed to diffuse the communication problems between the two parties.
“But at the end of the day, this kind of a dispute is always about people. In this particular case, it has to be remembered that the matter has been in the works for a long period of time. A lot of things have happened during this time which all affects the parties’ attitudes. Still, it is very difficult to decide which factor determines the outcome.”
The handshake that got the parties back to negotiations
There have been talks that the warring parties changed a tune in an interview in Vísir where the journalist Heimir Már Pétursson got Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir and Halldór Benjamín Þorbergsson to shake hands and promise to start negotiations again. At the press conference today Haraldsson thanked Pétursson for his part in the events and our photographer was there to capture the moment.
