Issue no. 10 of Efling’s economic analysis is about the options and ways to improve wages in the year 2022 and further down the road.
The economists of the National economic council now say that there is no possibility for raises, because of high inflation in the world economy. This is misleading. Raises are made possible by growth in GDP and productivity. Both are in good order in Iceland this year, and the earnings of most companies are good.
The elites have taken large raises, bigger bonuses and more stock options. Dividends are at a maximum and capital gains to top earners have risen enormously. In addition, they have gotten tax concessions.
It is a bare minimum to let workers enjoy the fruits of their productivity increase with a corresponding increase in purchasing power. If not, then the income distribution will be tilted even further toward the highest earners and biggest owners. There is plenty of reason for workers to get a better deal and the beneficial experience of the 2019 collective agreement model shows us the best way to take in the current conditions. This will be further detailed below.
This analysis is based on given conditions, but the demands of Efling are exclusively made by its negotiations committee.