Daycare teachers will strike should wage disputes not be resolved in time for August 22; they are asking for 11 percent more than the 12 to 13 percent other professions who are negotiating wages. The state negotiator is currently handling 16 separate wage negotiations.
From playschool in Reykjavík. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
“We have received the same offer as all other professions in Iceland; the difference is that our profession was left behind in the economic recession,” Haraldur Freyr Gíslason, the chairman of the association for professional daycare staff. “Our contracts did not expire until after the economic crisis of 2008 and we agreed to a raise in accordance to the stability pact in place.”
Other professions managed to re-negotiate wages prior to the economic crash in 2008 and therefore daycare professionals are earning 25 percent less than most comparable professions. The next meeting will be held on Friday, August 5th.
Inga Rún Ólafsdóttir, the chairman for the Municipal Negotiation Committee, told Morgunbladid she was aware daycare employees will strike if they do not get their way. “We have offered a 12 to 13 percent increase in pay but they are asking for more than we have been able to offer other comparable professions.”
