Icelandic unions’ contract negotiations may be about to get easier; possibly leading to an end to ongoing strikes.
The Federation of Icelandic Labor is in negotiations with three umbrella union organizations that could see proposed changes to working hours put to one side as a special case for further negotiation.
That way talks over pay and conditions could take place on their own and the whole process would be simplified.
The Federation of Labor’s proposed changes to daytime working hour regulations has proved extremely unpopular among trades unions and has added a complex extra layer to already-hard negotiations.
The Federation today conceded to the Federation of General and Special workers in Iceland’s demand to put proposed working hours changes to one side for the time being, RÚV reported.
Negotiations are still extremely fragile, but this is seen by many as a step in the right direction to bringing striking unionists back to work.
Most jobs in Iceland come with automatic union membership and employees not wishing to be part of a union have to request as much to their employers.
