Bishop Of Iceland Asks For, And Receives, Sizable Pay Rise

The Bishop of Iceland requested and received a 21% pay rise, and now earns 1.55 million ISK per month.

RÚV reports that Bishop Agnes Sigurðardóttir received a rise of 270,000 ISK – the average minimum wage for most workers in Iceland – and now makes 1.55 million ISK per month. She will also receive a one-time retroactive payment of 3.24 million ISK.

This rise, which was approved by the government’s Wage Committee, was requested by the Bishop in 2015, when she asked the committee to review how much she was earning.

The Wage Committee makes recommendations and decisions on the salaries of different high-level government employees, including those who work within the National Church. At the same time, everyone else must negotiate their wages with management, often through their respective labour unions.

Stundin points out the result of this: the President, members of parliament and government ministers have seen a much steeper rise in salaries than the national average, and payments to the disabled have been virtually unchanged (when factoring in purchasing power), since 2015.