A joint meeting
of the negotiation committee
and the confidant board of Efling
on February 8, 2024
sends out the following
DECLARATION
The negotiation committee and the confidant’s board of Efling express their full support for the continuation of collective agreement negotiations on the basis that the Union Alliance has formed an agreement on and presented to the Confederation of Employers(SA). The negotiation committee and the confidant’s board strongly emphasize that a long-term collective agreement will be protected by strict prerequisite clauses, which are in accordance with the stated contract goals and do not leave the risk of failure of prerequisites resting only with the workers.
The negotiation committee and the confidant’s board place an equally heavy emphasis on the government supporting the conclusion of collective agreements by carrying out a long overdue correction of the public transfer systems. This is the absolute basic condition for workers to be able to accept collective agreements with only moderate wage increases.
At the same time, the negotiation committee and the confidant’s board reaffirm the already stated demands of Efling regarding the following points:
- Protection against unjustified dismissals in the general labor market must be guaranteed, and in particular, it must be prevented that employees who comment on the conditions at their workplace are punished with dismissal.
- An appropriate number of confidants should be elected in companies where 100 or more members of the union are employed.
- Confidants must have a guaranteed minimum amount of time to perform the tasks assigned to them. The provisions of collective agreements need to be amended to ensure this.
- The right to attend courses should be the same both in the first and second year of a confidant’s appointment, and a confidant should be paid a substitute salary when he attends a course during working hours.
- Confidants who are members of a negotiation committee must be guaranteed that the employer will give them leave from work without loss of pay when they have to attend negotiation committee meetings and meetings with counterparties.
The negotiation committee and the confidant’s board also fully support the Union Alliance’s joint demands and put an emphasis on the following points:
- Authorizations for workplace monitoring must be expanded so that they cover the entire general labor market, but are not limited to certain sectors.
- Chain responsibility must be activated in contracting in the general labor market, rather than such responsibility only applying to public procurement.
- The impairment of acquired rights must be addressed upon re-employment with the same employer.
- It must be ensured in the collective agreement that an employee keeps his full salary when weather prevents him from getting to work.
- Workers’ claims for unpaid wages or on grounds of rights violations must be prevented from expiring faster than is expected in the general statute of limitations.
The negotiation committee and the confidant’s board also reaffirm their full support for other demands that other unions within the Union Alliance have made. Efling highly values the solidarity of the Union Alliance.
Members of Efling have on countless occasions experienced disrespect towards their existence, interests, and contractual rights. In recent years, that disrespect has been expressed by the union’s counterparts, both in the general and public labor markets and by the office of the state mediator. The time of such disrespect towards working people and low-wage workers has passed. Members of Efling are ready and willing to take drastic measures to make sure they will be met with normal minimum respect.
The negotiation committee and the confidant’s board see no obstacle in the way of concluding negotiations in less than a week. Efling has significantly accommodated SA and demands that their willingness to negotiate be reciprocated. The negotiation committee and the confidant’s board also trust that the state mediator will do his part to facilitate negotiations.
Unanimously approved at a joint meeting of the negotiation committee and the confidant’s board, held in Félagsheimili Eflingar (Efling’s meeting room) on February 8, 2024.