Six-Day Strike Postponed

The six-day strike that was supposed to begin at midnight yesterday has been postponed, as talks have been slightly improving.

RÚV reports that talks between management and the food service and restaurant workers union Matvís, the electrical workers union Rafiðnaðarsambands Íslands (RSÍ), and The Icelandic Union of Marine Engineers and Metal Technicians (VM) have taken a turn for the better.

“You could say things moved along a little bit in the talks today,” RSÍ chairperson Kristján Þórður Snæbjarnarson told reporters. “At least, in a way that encourages us to take a better look at the offer.”

Due to this improvement, the strike that was scheduled to begin at midnight last night and continue for another six days has been postponed until June 23, unless a new collective bargaining agreement is reached before that time.

As reported, amongst the workers who would take part in this strike are bakers, butchers, chefs, cooks and servers. As replacing striking workers is against Icelandic law – only upper management is permitted to do the jobs of striking workers – the temporary strike will likely lead to restaurants around the country closing for the duration, unless a deal can be reached.