Electronic voting on strike action

Ítarupplýsingar

Dear union member

Electronic voting is now open on strike action. The negotiators with SA (The federation of Icelandic Employers) about a new wage contract have come to a full stop. Those members of Rafiðnaðarsamband Íslands (Félag íslenskra rafvirkja, Félag rafeindavirkja, Félag tæknifólks í rafiðnaði, Rafiðnaðarfélag Suðurnesja, Rafiðnaðarfélag Norðurlands and Félag rafiðnaðarmanna á Suðurlandi) who work on the basis of collective wage agreement with SA are entitled to vote.

The strike will be as follows:

From 00:00 on June the 10th to 24:00 on June 16th and again indefinitely 00:00 on August 24th

Instructions on how to vote on the strike

Click on the link “Rafræn kosning” and a new page will come up.
There you must type in your ID number (kennitala) to gain access.
There you must type in your password (auðkenni) to gain access.
When you have done that a new page for the voting will come up.

Yes, I want to go on strike - (Já, ég samþykki verkfall)
No, I do not want to go on strike - (Nei, ég samþykki ekki verkfall)
I want to pass on voting - (Ég tek ekki afstöðu)

The voting will end at 10:00 am on June 1st.
The results will be announced on RSI’s homepage www.rafis.is
Those who do not have access to a computer can come to RSI´s office and vote there.

The mediator’s proposal contains following changes to the Agreement.

• Wages will increase by 20%
• Minimum wages for Worker with “sveinspróf” will be ISK 381.326
• Gap between rates will be 3%
• Go over ratios between groups in salary schedule and connect salary bracket to qulification
• December and vacation bonus will be half of one’s monthly wage
• Aðfangadagur (day before Christmas day) and gamlársdagur (last day of the year) will be a paid holiday for those who do not have it already
• New collective agreement will be valid from March 1st 2015

These are reasonable demands according to the reality of the Icelandic labour market and community. Despite this, there is a big gap between the Unions and SA. At this point it is pointless to continue the discussions. In order to move our issues ahead and follow our demands, it is necessary to obtain the permission of union members to convene a strike.

We urge members to participate in the vote. Good participation and good consensus sends an important message to the negotiating parties. Our goal for the Icelandic labour market is to be on the same level as the other Nordic countries and that people can live a decent family life on daytime wages. United we can achieve our goals.