'Very important' to prevent breakdown in labour market

The Social Affairs and Housing Minister says it is very important to protect the approach agreed in the 2024 collective agreements. If the government can help prevent the collective agreements from being terminated, it is prepared to do so. Success would benefit society as a whole. Uncertainty ahead in the labour market Inflation was 5.6% in August, making it clear that the assumptions underpinning the collective agreements reached in 2024 had failed. For them to have held, inflation would have needed to be 4.7%. It is therefore fair to say that considerable uncertainty lies ahead in the labour market. Ragnar Þór Ingólfsson, Social Affairs and Housing Minister, says the major unions and the government have had good discussions over the summer about how to respond. Particular attention is being paid to the housing market, which in his view is by far the biggest wage-related issue. Ragnar Þór says various issues that have featured prominently in discussions among ASÍ (the Icelandic Confederation of Labour) member unions fit well with government policy, and he sees no major obstacles in that regard. Labour-market abuses and housing issues weigh heavily Labour-market abuses and housing