“These Kinds of Things Just Don’t Happen in Iceland” Melissa Williams skrifar 9. febrúar 2023 16:31 A quick look at the culture of exploitation of immigrants. When looking to visit Iceland, tourists from far and wide often look to luxury hotel chains for accommodations. When looking to move to Iceland, immigrants and refugees often look to luxury hotel chains for work. Part of one of the largest industries in the country, these hotels and their owners gross millions of kronur daily. Luxury hotel chains are also one of the top employers of immigrant and refugee workers, particularly in their cleaning departments. Unfortunately, the wages for these workers are often low; day-time workers with a basic salary of a little over 370,000iskmonthly, some of the lowest wages in the country; for reference, the average monthly salary in Iceland hovers around 750,000-800,000isk. The hours are also often long, and the working conditions difficult, sometimes with one cleaner for every 50 rooms. As immigrants or tourists from less hospitable countries, when we express anxiety about certain scenarios we often hear locals say the sentiment, “these kinds of things just don’t happen in Iceland.” Which, for the most part is true and a fact for which I am thankful. However, as globalization continues and businesses here become less personal (the workforce less made up of your brother-in-law and his cousin, and more of these unknown people from unknown lands) the sentiment becomes less and less true. This has exacerbated the culture of exploitation and abuse in many of the sectors that hire these ‘unknown people’. Of course, these workers have unions, as is their right under Icelandic law (many of these workers are under Efling, whose membership is around 50% immigrants). However, when these workers showed support for their union’s actions to increase their pay, management and ownership began threatening and berating their lowest-waged earners in clear retaliation. “But these kinds of things just don’t happen in Iceland”—this is an argument that only hurts the workers. What is needed now is awareness and solidarity, not complacency. Not all is lost, however. Workers and union leaders have not taken on a defeatist attitude. They are doing everything in their power to create a better Iceland for the hotel workers, and other low-wages workers. Tourists can help, of course, by being aware of the vast exploitation and abuse suffered by these workers. They can help by doing research into the lodgings they choose, and by letting hotel management and ownership know they stand in solidarity with the workers. The author is a member of Efling and part of the negotiation committee. Viltu birta grein á Vísi? Sendu okkur póst. Senda grein Kjaraviðræður 2022-23 Mest lesið Sleppum brúnni og förum betri leið framhjá Selfossi Elliði Vignisson Skoðun Spilling á Íslandi: Erum við að missa tökin? Ágústa Árnadóttir Skoðun Halldór 5.10.2024 Jón Þór Stefánsson Halldór Eignafólk græðir mikið á vaxtastefnu Seðlabankans Stefán Ólafsson Skoðun Telur rektor Háskóla Íslands úrskurði alþjóðadómstóla og ályktanir Sameinuðu þjóðanna vera pólitískt álitamál? Elí Hörpu- og Önundarbur Skoðun Af ofurhetjum og störfum þeirra Kristín Björnsdóttir Skoðun Þriðjungur barna af erlendum uppruna tilheyrir ekki skólanum sínum Sara Björg Sigurðardóttir Skoðun Er vitlaust gefið í stjórnmálum? Reynir Böðvarsson Skoðun Foreldrar eru sérfræðingar í sínum börnum Valdimar Víðisson Skoðun Uppeldi frá gamla einmenningar eins-skin-litar viðhorfum Matthildur Björnsdóttir Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Uppeldi frá gamla einmenningar eins-skin-litar viðhorfum Matthildur Björnsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Af ofurhetjum og störfum þeirra Kristín Björnsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Eignafólk græðir mikið á vaxtastefnu Seðlabankans Stefán Ólafsson skrifar Skoðun Þriðjungur barna af erlendum uppruna tilheyrir ekki skólanum sínum Sara Björg Sigurðardóttir skrifar Skoðun Telur rektor Háskóla Íslands úrskurði alþjóðadómstóla og ályktanir Sameinuðu þjóðanna vera pólitískt álitamál? Elí Hörpu- og Önundarbur skrifar Skoðun Framtíðarkvíði er ekki gott veganesti Sigurður Páll Jónsson skrifar Skoðun Spilling á Íslandi: Erum við að missa tökin? Ágústa Árnadóttir skrifar Skoðun Orkan á Vestfjörðum Þorsteinn Másson skrifar Skoðun Smábátar eru þjóðhagslega hagkvæmari en togarar Kjartan Sveinsson skrifar Skoðun Foreldrar eru sérfræðingar í sínum börnum Valdimar Víðisson skrifar Skoðun Vísindin vakna til nýsköpunar! Einar Mäntylä skrifar Skoðun Risastórt lýðheilsumál sem Alþingi hunsar Sigurður Hólmar Jóhannesson skrifar Skoðun Þess vegna býð ég mig fram Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson skrifar Skoðun Sleppum brúnni og förum betri leið framhjá Selfossi Elliði Vignisson skrifar Skoðun Einstakur atburður og viðbúnaður Marinó G. Njálsson skrifar Skoðun Framboð er eina leiðin Eiríkur St. Eiríksson skrifar Skoðun Háskóli Íslands er ekki að sinna skyldum sínum Silja Höllu Egilsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Verðmætasköpun og kennarar Davíð Már Sigurðsson skrifar Skoðun Nýjar lausnir gegn ofbeldi Drífa Snædal skrifar Skoðun Lögin um það sem er bannað Helgi Brynjarsson skrifar Skoðun Að dansa í regninu Lóa Björk Ólafsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Dauðarefsing Pírata Sigurjón Þórðarson skrifar Skoðun Af hverju erum við að þessu? Kjartan Sveinn Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Upplýsingaóreiða í boði orkugeirans og Landsvirkjunar Snæbjörn Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Úrskurðargrautur lögmanna Ómar R. Valdimarsson skrifar Skoðun Er vitlaust gefið í stjórnmálum? Reynir Böðvarsson skrifar Skoðun Hinn langi USArmur Ísraels Ingólfur Steinsson skrifar Skoðun Kveðja frá Heimssýn til landsfundar VG 2024 Haraldur Ólafsson skrifar Skoðun Þjóðaróperan á Alþingi í nær 70 ár Finnur Bjarnason,Þórunn Sigurðardóttir skrifar Skoðun Um Ölfusárbrú og veggjöld Haukur Arnþórsson skrifar Sjá meira
A quick look at the culture of exploitation of immigrants. When looking to visit Iceland, tourists from far and wide often look to luxury hotel chains for accommodations. When looking to move to Iceland, immigrants and refugees often look to luxury hotel chains for work. Part of one of the largest industries in the country, these hotels and their owners gross millions of kronur daily. Luxury hotel chains are also one of the top employers of immigrant and refugee workers, particularly in their cleaning departments. Unfortunately, the wages for these workers are often low; day-time workers with a basic salary of a little over 370,000iskmonthly, some of the lowest wages in the country; for reference, the average monthly salary in Iceland hovers around 750,000-800,000isk. The hours are also often long, and the working conditions difficult, sometimes with one cleaner for every 50 rooms. As immigrants or tourists from less hospitable countries, when we express anxiety about certain scenarios we often hear locals say the sentiment, “these kinds of things just don’t happen in Iceland.” Which, for the most part is true and a fact for which I am thankful. However, as globalization continues and businesses here become less personal (the workforce less made up of your brother-in-law and his cousin, and more of these unknown people from unknown lands) the sentiment becomes less and less true. This has exacerbated the culture of exploitation and abuse in many of the sectors that hire these ‘unknown people’. Of course, these workers have unions, as is their right under Icelandic law (many of these workers are under Efling, whose membership is around 50% immigrants). However, when these workers showed support for their union’s actions to increase their pay, management and ownership began threatening and berating their lowest-waged earners in clear retaliation. “But these kinds of things just don’t happen in Iceland”—this is an argument that only hurts the workers. What is needed now is awareness and solidarity, not complacency. Not all is lost, however. Workers and union leaders have not taken on a defeatist attitude. They are doing everything in their power to create a better Iceland for the hotel workers, and other low-wages workers. Tourists can help, of course, by being aware of the vast exploitation and abuse suffered by these workers. They can help by doing research into the lodgings they choose, and by letting hotel management and ownership know they stand in solidarity with the workers. The author is a member of Efling and part of the negotiation committee.
Telur rektor Háskóla Íslands úrskurði alþjóðadómstóla og ályktanir Sameinuðu þjóðanna vera pólitískt álitamál? Elí Hörpu- og Önundarbur Skoðun
Þriðjungur barna af erlendum uppruna tilheyrir ekki skólanum sínum Sara Björg Sigurðardóttir Skoðun
Skoðun Þriðjungur barna af erlendum uppruna tilheyrir ekki skólanum sínum Sara Björg Sigurðardóttir skrifar
Skoðun Telur rektor Háskóla Íslands úrskurði alþjóðadómstóla og ályktanir Sameinuðu þjóðanna vera pólitískt álitamál? Elí Hörpu- og Önundarbur skrifar
Telur rektor Háskóla Íslands úrskurði alþjóðadómstóla og ályktanir Sameinuðu þjóðanna vera pólitískt álitamál? Elí Hörpu- og Önundarbur Skoðun
Þriðjungur barna af erlendum uppruna tilheyrir ekki skólanum sínum Sara Björg Sigurðardóttir Skoðun