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17.09.2026
Starfsgreinasamband Íslands sendi í gær, 16. september, áskorun til allra sveitarfélaga landsins um þátttöku í þjóðarsátt um verðstöðugleika.
Forsendur gildandi kjarasamninga eru brostnar og nú standa yfir viðræður um viðbrögð við forsendubrestinum. SGS telur brýnt að brugðist verði við með sameiginlegu átaki allra lykilaðila samfélagsins, þjóðarsátt um verðstöðugleika.
Markmiðið er skýrt: Að ná niður verðbólgu og vöxtum og skapa þannig skilyrði fyrir því að kjarasamningar haldi.
SGS skorar á sveitarfélögin að skuldbinda sig til að halda aftur af gjaldskrárhækkunum og sjá til þess að gjaldskrár þeirra og fyrirtækja í þeirra eigu hækki ekki um meira en 2,5% það sem eftir lifir gildandi kjarasamninga.
Launafólk hefur þegar lagt sitt af mörkum með gerð langtímakjarasamninga sem byggðust á hóflegum launahækkunum. SGS gerir kröfu um að aðrir leggja líka sitt af mörkum og ábyrgð og hófsemi verði að gilda fyrir alla þá sem áhrif hafa á verðmyndun. Ávinningurinn af lægri verðbólgu og vöxtum skilar sér til heimilanna, sveitarfélaganna, ríkissjóðs og fyrirtækjanna. Það eru því sameiginlegir hagsmunir samfélagsins alls að átakið takist.
SGS hefur óskað eftir skriflegu svari frá hverju sveitarfélagi um hvort það sé reiðubúið að taka þátt í þjóðarsátt um verðstöðugleika. Sambandið mun safna svörunum saman og halda utan um upplýsingar um þau sveitarfélög sem eru tilbúin að taka þátt í þessari vegferð.
Þjóðarsátt verður ekki að veruleika með yfirlýsingum einum saman. Allir verða að leggja sitt af mörkum og láta verkin tala.
Eruð þið með?
Áskorunina má lesa í heild sinni hér.
An English translation of SGS’s appeal to municipalities is available below:
English version
Dear Municipal Council Members,
The Federation of General and Special Workers in Iceland (SGS), comprising 18 trade unions across Iceland with approximately 44,000 members, is reaching out to the country’s municipalities in light of the current economic situation and developments in wage and labour market matters.
The underlying conditions on which the current collective agreements were based are no longer in place. SGS believes that the situation calls for a joint effort by all key stakeholders in society — a national consensus on price stability. The objective is clear: to bring down inflation and interest rates and thereby create the conditions necessary for the collective agreements to remain in force.
The core idea is simple: the government, municipalities, businesses, retail and service providers, and others that influence price formation should commit to exercising restraint and aim to ensure that prices and fees do not increase by more than 2.5% for the remainder of the current collective agreement period.
For such an initiative to succeed, no party can avoid its share of responsibility. The same expectation of responsibility and restraint must apply to everyone.
The benefits of bringing inflation down would be substantial, not only for households but also for the public sector. A great deal is at stake.
The total debt of Icelandic municipalities amounts to approximately ISK 640 billion. According to our analysis of the composition of municipal debt, an estimated 75% is inflation-indexed, equivalent to approximately 480 billion ISK. The Icelandic Treasury also has approximately 709 billion ISK net in inflation-indexed debt.
Taken together, the inflation-indexed debt of the Treasury, municipalities, businesses and households amounts to nearly 4,360 billion ISK.
If a concerted effort succeeded in reducing inflation from 5.6% to 3.6%, the benefit from lower inflation adjustments on these debts alone would amount to approximately ISK 87 billion over a single year, all else being equal.
This does not take into account the considerable additional benefits that lower interest rates would bring. Non-indexed debt held by the Treasury, municipalities, businesses and households also amounts to thousands of billions of Icelandic krónur. Lower inflation creates the conditions for lower interest rates, which would further reduce financing costs for households, businesses and the public sector.
For municipalities alone, a two-percentage-point reduction in inflation, based on approximately ISK 480 billion in inflation-indexed debt, would translate into approximately ISK 10 billion less in inflation adjustments over a single year, all else being equal.
This is precisely why it is necessary to consider the bigger picture. Exercising restraint in raising fees may entail some cost for the government and municipalities, just as limiting price increases may entail costs for businesses. However, the benefits of lower inflation and lower interest rates could be much greater for society as a whole.
Workers have already made their contribution by entering into long-term collective agreements based on moderate wage increases, in the belief that a coordinated effort would make it possible to bring inflation and interest rates down. Others must now do their part.
This is not about shifting the burden from one party to another. It is about breaking the vicious cycle of price increases, indexation and high interest rates, and replacing it with a positive cycle of lower inflation, lower interest rates, reduced financing costs and greater stability.
The benefits accrue to the Treasury. They accrue to municipalities. They accrue to businesses. And last but not least, they accrue to households and workers.
The Federation of General and Special Workers in Iceland therefore requests a written response as to whether your municipality is prepared to participate in a national consensus on price stability and ensure that the fees charged by the municipality and municipally owned companies do not increase by more than 2.5% for the remainder of the current collective agreement period.
A great deal is at stake. If everyone contributes, everyone stands to benefit. This can only succeed through a concerted effort. No one can avoid their share of responsibility.
Yours sincerely,
on behalf of the Federation of General and Special Workers in Iceland (SGS)
Vilhjálmur Birgisson
Chairman
SGS member unions:
AFL Starfsgreinafélag
Aldan stéttarfélag
Báran stéttarfélag
Drífandi stéttarfélag
Eining-Iðja
Framsýn stéttarfélag
Stéttarfélagið Samstaða
Stéttarfélag Vesturlands
Verkalýðs- og sjómannafélag Bolungarvíkur
Verkalýðs- og sjómannafélag Keflavíkur og nágrennis
Verkalýðs- og sjómannafélag Sandgerðis
Verkalýðsfélag Akraness
Verkalýðsfélag Grindavíkur
Verkalýðsfélag Snæfellinga
Verkalýðsfélag Suðurlands
Verkalýðsfélag Vestfirðinga
Verkalýðsfélag Þórshafnar
Verkalýðsfélagið Hlíf