The Icelandic fleet hauled and steamed home last week as the Seamen’s Union came out on strike on 10th November. Since then the fleet has been tied up as negotiations came to an end before the weekend.
Talks were resumed on Sunday and a resolution was announced late last night as the Icelandic Seamen’s Union (SSÍ) is reported to have reached agreement with owners’ federation SFS. The local seamen’s association in Grindavík is reported to have withdrawn its support for SSÍ as its members were dissatisfied with the outcome.
According to SSÍ, the terms are acceptable and they have made all the progress they are likely to. The terms of the agreement are expected to be announced later today and the membership then takes part in a ballot ending on the 14th of December. The new agreement does not have a long term to run and expires in only two years.
The manning levels question that resulted in the strike has been resolved with the decision to examine the conditions facing crew on pelagic and fresher whitefish vessels, and in the meantime the pelagic vessels can sail with a crew of eight. According to the union, this situation remains until it has been established whether or not the legal requirements on manning levels and rest periods are being adhered to.
The fleet as a whole has been tied up over the last few days, with the exception of a few trawlers steaming home from the Barents Sea, and one vessel that was able to continue fishing due to its status. The three crew of Bolungarvık longliner Thorlákur are its two deck officers and its engineer, all of whom belong to unions that have reached agreement with owners’ federation SFS, and are also owners of the company operating the boat, allowing them to go to sea while the rest of the fleet is tied up. They are reported to have checked the boat’s legal status carefully before starting fishing with the crew of owners on board to ensure they were not breaking the strike.
