Uni Teachers Negotiations “Going In The Right Direction”

Negotiations between the Association of University Teachers (FH) and the government are taking an optimistic turn, the FH chairperson says.

Vísir reports that FH chairperson Jörundur Guðmundsson believes there is a willingness from both sides to reach an agreement.

“There have been constant meetings,” said Jörundur. “This is moving in the right direction.” He added that university teachers will now discuss matters brought up in negotiations before deciding on their next move.

As reported, the university teachers have long been dissatisfied with their wages. In particular, while all academics are supposed to have the same requirements and meet the same standards of performance, the wages of university teachers have decreased in comparison to other academics.

Students have also been worried. A petition created by the Students Rights Office has called upon Minister of Finance Bjarni Benediktson in particular, but all members of parliament in general, to prevent the strike from happening. To this end, they are planning on a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Finance at noon tomorrow.

Unless matters are settled sooner, the university teachers will strike from April 25 to May 10.