Doctors agree to strike – again
Soon, doctors at the National Hospital will go on strike if agreements between the Icelandic Medical Association and the government's bargaining committee are not reached. mbl.is/Jón Pétur
Doctors have again approved strike action with a decisive majority, but voting on strike action in November, December, and January ended today at 4 pm.
This is stated in an announcement from the Icelandic Medical Association.
It says that 1,246 persons were on the electoral register and 1,061 voted, or 85.5%.
Of these, 1,015 persons said yes to strike action, or 95.66% of voters. 32, or 3.3%, said no and 11, or 1.04% of subjects returned a blank.
Doctors had approved a strike on October 31st with a large majority, but the members of the Medical Association were informed on November 1st that the state considered the calling of the strike illegal.
Subsequently, the Medical Association announced a new strike on November 3.
Votes cast at eleven workplaces
"Votes were cast at 11 doctors' workplaces, and the number of doctors who accepted a strike call went from all who voted to 72.2% of those who voted. In two workplaces everyone voted in favor of a strike, in five workplaces at least 95% voted in favor of a strike, in one workplace 93% voted in favor of a strike, in two workplaces between 83 and 85% voted in favor of a strike, and in one workplace 72% voted in favor of a strike," says the announcement of the recently concluded voting.
The state conciliator and the negotiator, the state bargaining committee, will be informed tomorrow that strikes will begin on November 25.
Break from December 20 to January 5
"The strike actions will take place weekly and will start on November 25th. as mentioned earlier. For the first week, all medical workplaces will be on strike from Monday, November 25 to Thursday, November 28 from midnight to noon. Next week, all doctors' workplaces will be on strike from midnight to noon on Tuesday, December 3, and Thursday, December 5. In the third week, all medical workplaces will be on strike again from Monday, December 9 to Thursday, December 12, from midnight to noon. In the fourth week, all doctors' workplaces will be on strike on Monday, December 16 and Wednesday, December 18 from midnight to noon," says an announcement on the Icelandic Medical Association's website.
It also states that there will be a break in strike action from December 20 to and including January 5, 2025, but then strike action will continue in the same way, i.e. in four-week cycles right up until the end of the week.
"The board and the negotiation committee of the Doctors’ Association hope that there will be no need for strike action and that agreements will be reached before the announced strikes are to begin," says the announcement.
