More Teachers Vote Yes To Strike

The majority of teachers at The Technical College of Reykjavík and Borgarfjörður College have voted in favour of going on strike on March 17.

Vísir reports that the majority of those who cast votes on the matter in those schools – 82.3% and 75%, respectively – voted in favour of beginning a teachers’ strike on March 17, unless the government is able to provide a counteroffer that satisfies labour demands.

As reported, 86.9% of The Icelandic Teachers’ Unions and The Association of Deputy Headteachers in Upper Secondary Schools recently participated in a strike vote. Of those, 87.6% voted in favour of going on strike.

The core of the dispute centres around secondary school teachers, who 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.

At the time of this writing, government officials have yet to make a new offer for the collective bargaining agreement.