VR seeks talks with employers to resolve pay dispute

The negotiating committee of VR and the Federation of Icelandic Commercial Workers has been authorised to terminate its collective agreement with the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise if the employers make no offer, mbl.is reports.

The mandate was approved by a majority at a meeting on Monday between VR’s board, which also serves as the union’s negotiating committee, and the federation’s negotiating committee.

VR chair Halla Gunnarsdóttir told mbl.is that the issues were discussed at length. Earlier in the day, VR’s trustees’ council had given the negotiating committee full and unrestricted authority to terminate the agreements.

Gunnarsdóttir said she hoped the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise would sit down with VR to seek a solution, adding that this should have happened long ago. She said the union was asking for recognition of the situation and did not want its members locked into continued wage cuts.

“We are not even asking for an increase in purchasing power, just for wages to keep pace with prices at a time of rapidly rising policy rates,” she said.