Union leader expects one-hour workweek cut within a year

The working week for members of Starvsfelagið could be shortened by one hour within a year, its chairman, Súni Selfoss, told KVF.

The Finance Ministry has offered the unions a shorter working week if they agree, among other things, to negotiate rules on emergency preparedness and exemptions during industrial action.

The offer has been made to all 12 unions that agreed on a joint wage framework with the government last year. Selfoss said Starvsfelagið already has an agreement on emergency preparedness.

The Business and Legal Association, BLF, has received a similar offer. Its members will consider the proposal at a meeting in Tórshavn on September 17.

The proposal also includes wage increases that would be paid partly as fixed amounts rather than solely as percentages. The wage framework runs for five years and would not need to be changed if the working week is shortened by one hour.

Finance Minister Aksel V. Johannesen and Jan Sjóstein, director of the wage department, declined to comment, saying the negotiations were confidential.