The negotiating committee of Efling – union in the negotiations with SSSK today signed a collective agreement on the wages of the members of Efling employed by privately run preschools and primary schools in the area of coverage of Efling.The agreement stipulates that the wages of the union members are to follow the agreement between Efling and the City of Reykjavík as Efling has demanded from the outset. None of the cuts put forth by SSSK during the negotiations are included in the agreement.The finalization of the agreement fulfills the demand of Efling that a legally binding bilateral collective agreement regarding the wages of the union members in question will henceforth be negotiated in stead of a unilateral declaration on behalf of SSSK.Thus, all the demands of Efling have been met in a wage dispute between Efling and SSSK which has lasted ever since the collective agreement with the City of Reykjavík was negotiated on March 10th of 2020. Efling referred the dispute to the State Mediator in May. Close to 300 members of Efling are employed by the companies belonging to SSSK.“I am pleased that SSSK has finally accepted the reasonable demand that the staff of privately run schools should be paid according to a legally binding bilateral collective agreement just like everyone else in the Icelandic labor market. It is always enjoyable to see total victory won in wage negotiations with the determined will and solidarity of workers,” said Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, the chairman of Efling.The agreement will now be presented to the union’s members but it will now have to be voted on before it can take effect.
