State Will Provide 900 Million ISK Per Year To Improve Conditions For Nurses

An arbitral tribunal concerning the dispute between the Association of Icelandic Nurses and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs has ruled that the state will provide Landspítali hospital with 900 million ISK per year to improve the conditions for nurses.

Earlier this summer, the Association had announced a strike over their wages and working conditions, but it ended up being cancelled due to an arbitration proposal drawn up by the state mediator, which they had agreed to.

The arbitral tribunal was appointed in July to oversee the wage dispute and published their ruling on the website of the National Mediation Office yesterday.

According to the ruling, the state is to provide Landspítali with 900 million ISK every year, starting immediately, until the end of the parties’ wage agreement validity, and additionally provide 200 million ISK per year to other health institutions in proportion to the average number of full-time nurses who worked there since before the end of 2019.

According to a report by Vísir, Guðbjörg Pálsdóttir, chairman of the Association of Nurses, says that, “It’s good that certain things are being improved, such as specific projects. But I cannot say what the actual result will be for the actual member.”

“The next step is to enter into institutional agreements with all health institutions in the state and review them in collaboration with each and every institution. It has to happen fast and well because it has to be finished before the end of the year. We agree on that, of course, and we expect good co-operation from all institutions. ”

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.