"No one has started yelling or arguing"
Steinunn Þórðardóttir, chairman of the Icelandic Medical Association. Composite image/mbl.is/Sigurður Bogi/Colourbox
Good progress is being made in the salary negotiations of the Medical Association of Iceland with the Icelandic government, but the doctors' strikes will begin in five days if an agreement is not reached before that time.
"People are doing their jobs, that's for sure," says Steinunn Þórðardóttir, chairman of the Icelandic Medical Association, in an interview with mbl.is. "It's non-stop meetings," she adds.
When mbl.is spoke to Þórðardóttir last Monday, her voice was a bit heavier than the previous days, but that was caused by the more difficult subjects of the negotiation meetings. However, the overall view had not changed, according to her.
"There are differences between the parties depending on what is being discussed," she said on Monday, predicting that more difficult issues would be discussed this week. Þórðardóttir says it hasn't changed, but that everyone is well aware that time is of the essence.
"Everyone is very focused and no one has started yelling and arguing. There is balanced and steady work going on."
The strike by doctors working in the public sector will start on Monday, November 25, but it will cover doctors at Landspítali National Hospital and other health institutions throughout the country, as well as health centers, apart from the private ones.
