The union Efling claims that the cleaning company Ræstitækni ehf. “forces employees to complete tasks under severe time pressure, often in extremely stressful conditions. No worker is paid in accordance with the agreed contract. Additionally, employees reportedly have no access to toilets or designated meal areas.” as reported by RÚV.
This comes after RÚV’s published an interview with a worker from Rætitækni, currently on maternity leave. Efling supports her story and says that Ræstitekník’s management tried to undermine her after she became a shop steward and spread knowledge to her colleagues about their wage, and even more after she became pregnant.
As an example of the strain and stress, the worker reports that she couldn’t always get access to a toilet, so she and her colleagues resorted to keeping a bucket in the car that they peed in.
“Efling also claims that Venezuelan workers are regularly assigned to work two shifts in a single day and are expected to complete tasks in an extremely short timeframe, forcing them to work at an intense pace. However, none of the affected employees have received wages that reflect these demands. The company allegedly monitors workers via GPS tracking, and they reportedly have no time for meal breaks or access to toilets during their shifts.” reports RÚV.
The company Ræstitækni ehf.’s owner Þórir Gunnarsson has denied the claims.
Ræstitækni ehf., kt. 460502-4460, real owner: Þórir Gunnarsson. Company registry
RÚV reports that, according to Eining-Iðja trade union in Akureyri, over 20 workers (at the time of writing) had sent complaints regarding wage-cut and work conditions at the cleaning companies Dagar ehf. and Hreint ehf., the two largest cleaning companies in Iceland.
The claims include:
Not receiving additional payment for completing tasks within strict time limits, as per collective agreement. “The collective agreements for cleaning staff include provisions for piecework, meaning employees must complete assigned tasks within a set time, typically requiring them to work at an accelerated pace. For this, they should receive a 20% higher hourly wage.” says Tryggvi Jóhannsson, Vice Chairman of Einingar-Iðja receiving the claims.
In 2018 Heimildin wrote an investigative article about several companies offering horse riding tours. They posed as a 19 year old Danish women, looking for a job guiding horse riding tours. According to the article, Sólhestar, Lýsuhóll, Geysir hestar, Hestasport, Alhestar, Kíðafell, Stóri-Kambur, Hestaleigan Galsi, Hömluholt, Leirubakki, Jóreykir, Oddsstaðir, Skálakot and Giljar wrote back, offering volunteering opportunities for food and accommodation and wages much lower than specified in the collective agreement. Below are the screenshots of some of the exchanges, as they appeared in the articles:
Alhestar:
prepare the horses for tours, guiding, stable work, helping with booking
shared accommodation and food offered
pay 12000kr per week
Hestasport:
job requirement list of two pages including ability to ride and take care of horses; knowledge about Icelandic geography, geology, history and culture; knowledge about human rights and insurance; guiding
40% of the job is cleaning the cottages for tourist accommodation
wage 80.000kr per months, accommodation included
employee has to provide their own food and health insurance
Lýsuhóll:
no salary
food and accommodation (in a shared room with several other girls) provided
no hours / responsibilities specified
Sólhestar:
working time from 7:45a, to 5 pm, might be longer
around 7 hours a day spent riding
paid time off, but only if one day is taken, not when several days in a row
120.000kr a months accommodation provided in a shared house
“we are like a small family”
worker registered with a kennitala only if working more than 3 months
Sólhestar ehf. (kt:590111-0580); Real owner: Sólmundur Sigurðsson (company registry)
Lýsuhóll: Snæhestar ehf. (kt:430517-0660); Real owners: Jóhanna Bára Ásgeirsdóttir and Agnar Gestsson (company registry)
Geysir Hestar: Registered under owner Hjalti Gunnarsson (kt:180754-5719) (company registry)
Hestasport (kt:520692-2909) (company registry) and Hestasport – Ævintýraferðir ehf (kt: 500594-2769) (company registry); Real owner of both: Magnús Sigmundsson.
Alhestar: Maggi Emm ehf. (kt:540206-1040); Real owner: Magnús Georg Jensen (company registry)
Kiðafell ehf. (kt:620101-3030); Real owners: Guðbjörg Þorvarðardóttir, Margrét Þorvarðardóttir, Sigríður Þorvarðardóttir and Þorkell Gunnar Hjaltason (company registry)
Stóri-Kambur: Pegron ehf. (kt:711201-2030); Real owner: Hjörtur Sigurðsson (company registry)
Hestaleigan Galsi: Registered under owner Jón Árni Magnússon (kt:(191091-3459) (company registry)
Hömluholt ehf. (kt:640107-0810); Real owner: Gísli Guðmundsson (company registry)
Leirubakki: Leirubakki-ferðaþjónusta ehf (kt:471005-0880) (company registry); Leirubakki-hrossaræktarbú ehf (kt:471005-1500) (company registry) and Embla – ferðaþjónusta ehf (kt:650405-0210) (company registry); Real owners of all three: Anders Hansen and Valgerður Kr Brynjólfsdóttir
Jóreykir ehf (kt:630305-0390); Real owner: Hrafnhildur Guðmundsdóttir and Jóhannes Kristleifsson (company registry)
Oddsstaðir ehf. (kt:550217-2600); Real owner: Guðbjörg Ólafsdóttir and Sigurður Oddur Ragnarsson (company registry)
Hestaleigan Skálakoti: Registered under owner: Guðmundur Jón Viðarsson (kt:151264-3609) (company registry). He is also registered together with Jóhanna Sólveig Þórhallsdóttir as the real owner of Gerandi ehf. (kt:4812150480) (company registry)
