Editorial Note
Despatch 491 from Reykjavik, May 11, reported a total of 46 Icelandic unions were prepared to strike soon after May 18. A committee representing employers, unions, and the Government had been appointed to try to work out a solution, either by lowering taxes or raising wages. The despatch quoted the Speaker of the Lower House of the Althing, who told an officer of the Legation that increased ECA aid might make possible a reduction of taxes and eliminate the need for a wage increase.
Despatch 500 from Reykjavik, May 18, notified the Department of State that the strike began at 1 minute after midnight on May 18. Telegram 258 from Reykjavik, May 22, reported the strike had ended and the workers had gone back to work in Reykjavik and most other communities.
Despatch 504 from Reykjavik, May 25, gave an account of the agreement for a wage increase beginning on June 1 that had ended the strike on May 22. It quoted a Social Democratic member of the Althing who told an officer of the Legation that the Government authorized the wage increase only because it feared the possibility [Page 507] of serious strikes just after the arrival of American troops, partly because of the international effect and partly because idle men might cause unpleasant incidents. These despatches are in file 840B.062.