The negotiations between the labor market parties in the Faroe Islands to end the ongoing strike have collapsed. Friday night, the editor-in-chief of the Faroe Islands’ largest newspaper, Sosialurin, Eirikur Lindenskov, stated that the parties walked away without reaching an agreement. Since May 14th, several workgroups, including truck drivers, dockworkers, garbage collectors, and warehouse workers, have been on strike in a wage dispute that has now lasted for many weeks.
According to Lindenskov, the breakdown in negotiations occurred around 10 p.m. on Friday night, and the chairman of the Thorshavn Workers’ Union, one of the parties involved, expects the negotiations to resume either on Saturday or Sunday. “They have not directly stated when the negotiations will resume. But it will not be several days,” Lindenskov said, adding that there is an urgency to reach an agreement as the strike is having a noticeable impact on the entire Faroe Islands. Shortages of gasoline and food are among the problems caused by the strike, and since April 4th, the parties have been negotiating a new collective agreement without being able to reach a solution.