Union leader accuses employers of pressuring government in wage talks

Halla Gunnarsdóttir, chair of the VR union, says the employers’ association SA is turning labour-market negotiations into a debate about the government and public finances, rather than discussing a deal with unions, mbl.is reports.

According to sources cited by mbl.is, SA is pressuring the government to withdraw a planned increase in the per-kilometre vehicle charge included in the finance minister’s budget bill.

Gunnarsdóttir said she could not confirm exactly what SA was asking the government to address. But she said it was unreasonable for negotiating parties not to discuss different scenarios, including whether the government would become involved and what that could mean for assumptions and inflation.

Gunnarsdóttir and Jakob Tryggvason, chair of the electrical workers’ union, met SA managing director Bjarni Benediktsson and SA chair Jón Ólafur Halldórsson on Tuesday morning. VR, LÍV and Fagfélögin presented what Gunnarsdóttir described as a “buffet of solutions.”

After the meeting, the union representatives proposed continuing talks shortly after noon at the state mediator’s offices. They went there and waited for SA, whose representatives had gone to meet their board.

Gunnarsdóttir said 46 hours remained. If the agreements are terminated, the public-sector unions BSRB, BHM and KÍ are also entitled to terminate their contracts. “If there is any willingness to prevent everything from going up in flames this winter, people have to sit down and talk,” she said.