A new agreement on wages for Icelandic kindergarten teachers was signed on Saturday, including a seven-percent initial pay raise and further gradual increase in salaries. Therefore, the strike that was supposed to begin today has been canceled.

Icelandic pre-schoolers can go to kindergarten this week as scheduled. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.

Haraldur Freyr Gíslason, chairman of the Association of Kindergarten Teachers, told Morgunbladid that he is satisfied with the agreement and content that the negotiation committee achieved its goals.

The municipalities in Iceland are not all in a financial position which will allow them to cope with the pay raise of kindergarten teachers, said Halldór Halldórsson, chairman of the Association of Local Authorities in Iceland.

“[All] additional expenses for municipalities simply call for them to review their issues and either meet them with increased revenue or cutbacks to services. That’s a given,” Halldórsson stated.

Click here to read more about the demands of playschool teachers.