An overwhelming majority approves a call to strike in Reykjavík

An overwhelming 95.5% majority of those who took part in a strike vote among Efling workers at the city of Reykjavík has approved the action. The vote took place over five days and ended on noon today, Sunday, January 26th. The turnout was a record-breaking 59.2%. The voting registry comprised 1,894 members of Efling who work for the city of Reykjavík. Of 1,121 votes cast, an overwhelming majority, 95.5% of them, were cast in favour Read more…

Employees at Reykjavík city will get paid from the strike fund

Members of Efling union that work at Reykjavík city will get paid from strike fund if there will be a strike in February. Payments for those who suffer wage loss during these strike days will be 12.000 kr. Tuesday, February 4th, 2020: Work stops from 12:30 noon until 11:59pm. Tuesday, February 11th 2020: Work stops from 12:30 noon until 11:59pm. Payments for those who suffer wage loss during these strike days will be 18.000 kr. Read more…

Regarding comments about the offer from Reykjavík city

Following the statements of the head of negotiations on the side of Reykjavík city, on the contents of the offer the city made to Efling at the beginning of its negotiations, Efling would like to make it clear that it stands by the statements its chairwoman, Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, made this morning. Had the offer been accepted, large groups of workers would have seen lower wages than in the so-called “Lífskjarasamningur” agreements on the private Read more…

Efling calls for open negotiations with the mayor

Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, chairman of Efling, has informed mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson that Efling will not engage in further talks with the city’s negotiating committee, beyond that which is required by law. The negotiating committee spread misleading information to the press from the negotiation meeting with the state mediator regarding the proposal put forth by Efling on January 16th, thus violating both the rules of confidentiality and the law. The negotiating committee of Efling demands Read more…

Offer presented

The negotiation committee of Efling vis-a-vis Reykjavík city made an offer today for a new collective agreement. It was presented to the city’s negotiation committee at the state mediator’s office at 1pm today. The city’s representatives did not want to continue talks today. The state mediator instead scheduled another meeting for Tuesday at 10:30am. Voting on a strike proposal prepared by the Efling negotiation committee will commence at noon on Tuesday. The photo is of Read more…

Strike vote for Reykjavík city begins on January 21

A vote on the calling of a strike among members of Efling who work for Reykjavík city starts at noon on Tuesday, January 21, and concludes at noon on Sunday, January 26. Balloting will take place online. For those who can’t vote online are invited to cast their ballot at the union’s office and in a mobile polling station which will be driven between workplaces. An exceptions committee will process requests for minimum staffing at Read more…

Preparations underway for strike actions in the City

The negotiating committee of Efling responsible for negotiating with the City of Reykjavík has accepted a proposal for a work stoppage action which is planned for February. The union’s members are required to approve the proposal and preparations for a vote are underway in the Efling offices. According to the proposal, strike actions lasting for half and whole days will take place with increasing frequency in the previous half of February and a strike action Read more…

A petition for the municipal authorities to conclude negotiations as soon as possible

Union representatives from the city’s workplaces today handed to the mayor of Reykjavík a petition for the city to conclude negotiations with its staff. Lists of signatures have circulated in workplaces and almost 1000 signatures were obtained. Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson welcomed the group and said that he agreed that negotiations must be concluded as soon as possible in a fair manner. Although he was not confident that such a goal might be achieved, he Read more…

Visiting Miðborg

Today, Ragnar Ólason and Efling organizers visited the kindergarten Miðborg to discuss negotiations with the city and to hear the staff out. The welfare of kids being taken care of in the kindergartens was on people’s mind. In Iceland, children spend more time in kindergarten during the day than in neighbouring countries, as our working week is longer. In addition to this longer stay and accompanying work, the kindergartens have suffered cuts, which leads to Read more…