ASÍ, Efling, VR. So powerful chairmen

There is something really amazing about human being : the communication. Some people are trying to talk, to listen, to understand, to explain what they think and to debate. Some other people leave a congress and create chaos.

In March 2022, I got invited to participate to the SGS Congress. I have been listening carefully everything. I learned. I gave my point of view. And, somehow, some people started to wonder who I was. During this congress, we had to vote for the new board. Vilhjálmur Birgisson, supported by Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, became the new SGS Chairman. While she did not get a vote for becoming delegate. As a Efling’s member, I have been asked, like everybody from Efling, to vote for specific names. No free choice, no free will. It has to be Vilhjálmur president. I remember the faces of my colleagues sitting next to me, wondering what was happening. Do we have to follow our board ? Is this, what we call, democracy ? So, I went to talk to some people from other unions about that, and nobody seemed really surprised by this method. It is is not illegal, but it is not really human neither. Somehow, it is all about politic. I sat down and vote for who I wanted. Welcome to the political world. And if karma exists, then we are all glad Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir was not elected as delegate.

Glad ? Not quit sure. One month later, everybody working for Efling got laid off. It can, of course, be a coincidence. Who knows ? I have been participating to many meetings as union representative and, I have to be honest, I am really glad I have met Sólveig. She has balls, you know. She knows what she wants, she is smart and she will always make everything to achieve her goals. And she is able to use words like no one. I really admire her for that. But, she is too obvious and her methods are really old ways methods. During a meeting, she asked all union representatives to send an email to Katrín Jakobsdóttir for contesting some of her decisions. I said directly to Sólveig it was a old way to get something from the Prime Minister and that she could even complain about harassment from us. And she just answered me that old ways are the best ways.

Old ways… Like contesting by dismissing and get elected again ? Like firing everybody after loosing SGS election ? Like standing up and leaving ASÍ Congress because… because… because of what by the way ?

ASÍ Congress was the biggest congress of the year and could have been defining the future of many employees in Iceland. It was awaited by thousand of people. We are struggling, with low wages, high interests, high rents, inflation,… And this congress is made for helping us. For writing the future. For debating. For talking and for helping each other. For supporting each other. For being united against the poverty that settles in Iceland. Of course, we need a new ASÍ President. And we are so lucky we can vote for it.

As an employee who is waiting for more rights, I am really shocked by those representatives who left the congress for no reason. No reason. Just because the old ways are the best. Being listened by creating chaos. Show to all unions in Iceland who is the biggest and who has the power.

But, as a member of Efling, am I surprised ? We know Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir. We know how she reacts. She is someone so great with words. She, once, dared to compare an immigrant who fought for his life in Iceland, to a great icelandic man who is fighting every day of his life to help foreigners and Icelanders to survive in Iceland and to avoid slavery and get a better life. A man respected by all profession by his actions. A man who dared to tell her how bad she is ruling Efling. And who got verbally lynched for telling out loud what everybody think silently. She got applauded for that. She is someone you do not want to fight. But, she is using old ways…

Was she scared of loosing ASÍ election ? She is saying she is considering of quitting ASÍ. But where is the democracy ? Do we want to quit ASÍ ? Do we want to live in a chaos, with low wages, inflation and an Union which is representing no one else than Sólveig and her friends ?

While we are watching presidents fighting for more power, we are still surviving and trying to find a way to pay our bills. While they think they fight for us, we see some kids mad it’s time to stop playing, and crying and shouting for playing longer until they got what they want. While I was hoping someone would fight for my rights, they were standing up and giving up all their will without fighting. And all of that, with the money we give them every month with a hard work.

But let me tell you one last thing. This is what we call chaos. And we all let it happens.