Icelandair talks continue as sides remain far apart

The Iceland Aircraft Engineers Association and Icelandair remain far apart in their dispute, state mediator Ástráður Haraldsson told mbl.is. The parties have met throughout the week, and the next meeting is scheduled for Monday.

Work on drafting proposals will continue over the weekend, Ástráður said. He said it was difficult to assess the progress of the talks, adding that the parties still had a considerable gap on the issue under discussion: changes to shift arrangements.

On pay demands, the parties had agreed on a framework for addressing the issue based on an internal proposal. But aircraft engineers say they have fallen behind in wage increases. The association’s chair has said there is a 23 percent gap between engineers and the groups they use for comparison.

The engineers began a strike at midnight on September 23, but called it off at noon that day after reports that the government intended to legislate to end it. The association and Icelandair then agreed to cancel the strike and take part in focused talks over the following four weeks under a schedule set by the state mediator.

After Monday’s meeting, Ástráður said it takes time for people to regain their composure after such an event. Asked whether they had done so, he said there had been no agitation, but that a strike being announced and then taking place brings both practical and psychological changes. He added that people were recovering reasonably well.

Monday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.