The negotiations committee of Efling – Union has approved to make the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise (SA) an offer for a collective agreement for just over one year. The offer is about a 56.700 kr. flat pay raise on all wages and in addition a 15.000 kr. wage supplement. These increases would come into effect from November 1st, 2022. The contract would last until January 31st, 2024.
With this Efling accommodates the demands about a short-term contract that have been set forth by other trade unions, the state and SA. The pay raises in the offer are like what would have been expected in the first year of the three-year contract that was demanded in the original demands.
The negotiations committee is of the opinion that the negotiated pay raises need to protect the homes of low- and middle-income workers from the effect of inflation and ensure that they get a fair share of the economic growth and exceptionally good performance of companies. And in this regard, it does not matter if the contract is negotiated for a shorter or longer period.
The negotiations committee of Efling thinks that other trade unions made a mistake when they agreed to the method of percentage increases in their negotiations with SA. Proposals have been discussed where the pay raise for high-income earners would be double that of the pay raise for low-wage workers.
“Everybody agrees that a bloated economy and consumption in the upper half of the income ladder are one of the main problems of the Icelandic economy. The central bank has resorted to group punishments against the whole nation by raising the interest rates with reference to this situation. In this context it is obviously nonsense to talk about high-income earners getting pay raises double that of low-income workers,” said Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir chairman of Efling. “But on the other hand, it is possible to adapt to the demands about a short-term contract. Our offer is a short-term version of the sensible and reasoned demands of the negotiations committee of Efling,” Sólveig Anna added.
Coverage in the media
ruv.is: Efling offers a raise in ISK in a year agreement