The Federation of General and Special Workers in Iceland, SGS, where Efling is a member, has aired its dissatisfaction with the association of local authorities. The association has refused to hold up its end of a July 7, 2009 agreement on equalizing pensions between workers in different sectors. The municipality of Reykjavík has already accepted for its part, but the smaller municipalities have put up a united front of rejection.Because of this, talks on new collective agreements stalled, and SGS referred negotiations to the state mediator. A temporary agreement over raises through the summer vacations was held up by the municipalities because of this dispute.Now the leaders of SGS have agreed to refer the interpretation of the 2009 agreement to the Labour Court. This will clarify the duties of the municipalities to enter collective bargaining on equalized pension rights.
