Icelandair and pilots continue slow wage talks

Icelandair and the Association of Icelandic Airline Pilots are continuing negotiations on a new collective agreement, mbl.is reports. State conciliator Ástráður Haraldsson said the talks were moving forward, although slowly and cautiously.

Haraldsson met representatives of Icelandair and the pilots’ association at Karphúsið, the state conciliator’s offices, on Monday. The negotiations are being conducted under a structured plan agreed by the parties in June, alongside a peace obligation.

“It is going reasonably well. Of course, it is moving very slowly, this is not happening quickly and people are proceeding cautiously. But they are continuing, and as long as that is the case, we will not give up,” Haraldsson told mbl.is.

The dispute between Icelandair and the pilots was more prominent earlier this year, but the talks became calmer after the structured plan was adopted.

Meanwhile, a separate dispute between Icelandair and the Icelandic Aircraft Engineers Association has attracted more attention. A general strike by aircraft engineers appears likely to begin at midnight going into Wednesday.