The votes are in, and Iceland’s secondary school teachers will go on strike March 17 if a new collective bargaining agreement is not reached.
RÚV reports that voter participation on the strike question was 86.9% of The Icelandic Teachers’ Unions and The Association of Deputy Headteachers in Upper Secondary Schools. Of those, 87.6% voted in favour of going on strike, whilst on 10% voted against it.
As reported secondary school teachers have been deeply unsatisfied with the terms being offered by the state, especially with regards to wage increases. In a recent statement to the press, they demanded that “the government revoke its [collective bargaining] representative at once, to present a realistic offer at the negotiations table to correct our salaries, and insure a natural salary development in the future. This, and only this, can create the foundation discussions about the future of secondary schools for the teaching class.”
Furthermore, even Icelandic students have shown public support for the labour demands of their teachers.
Unless the government makes a counter-offer that the teachers find satisfactory, the strike will begin on March 17.
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