Iceland’s fishermen vote to strike
The Icelandic fleet is set to stop fishing next month after union members voted overwhelmingly in favor of strike action over falling earnings. Ninety-one percent of members of the Icelandic Union of Marine Engineers and Metal Technicians voted for a strike, as did 90 percent of the members of associations affiliated to the Seamen’s Union representing deck crews. The ships officers’ union had previously voted to accept the terms of an agreement with owners’ federation SFS (Iceland Fisheries). There are several issues that the pro-strike unions are deeply dissatisfied with, including the percentage that crews of new vessels pay towards construction costs, which is felt to be excessive, not least because there is a number of new vessels set to join the Icelandic fleet over the coming year, with both freezer and fresher trawlers being built at yards in China and Turkey for Icelandic operators. Read the rest here 12:02
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