4 June 2003: Faroe islands strikers win

4 June 2003: Faroe islands strikers win

From On This Day in Working Class History by Working Class History

June 4, 2026 · 1 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the successful strike by workers in the Faroe Islands on June 4, 2003, which resulted in a pay increase and other improvements.

On this day, 4 June 2003 after five weeks of strike action, workers in the Faroe Islands won a pay increase of 9% over the next two years, as well as other improvements. Around 12,000 workers organised in the Færøernes Arbejderforeninger walked out on strike in May – almost a third of the entire working population. Most of the strikers were dockworkers or workers in the fish processing industry. The refusal to unload ships caused supplies and fuel on the islands to run out, which forced the employers to concede to several demands, including a pay increase, an increase in piece rate payments to dockworkers, as well as new contractual arrangements forcing employers to purchase specialist equipment needed by workers for certain jobs. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/7956/faroe-islands-strike-wins Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon . If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory . See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app…

Topics covered

  • labor history
  • strikes
  • workers' rights
  • pay increase
  • Faroe Islands

Keywords

  • Faroe Islands
  • strike
  • workers
  • pay increase
  • labor rights
  • dockworkers
  • fish processing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Færøernes Arbejderforeninger

Places: Faroe Islands

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