Don't have to participate in the work ban

“I can state categorically that no companies in the Icelandic Restaurant Association (SVEIT), have to comply with the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise’s work ban,” remarked Aðalgeir Ásvaldsson, the director of the association.

The association has informed the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise (SA) that companies within SVEIT consider themselves unbound by SA’s decision to impose a work ban on Efling members. As previously reported, SA’s member associations decisively approved the measure of work ban on Efling, which will take effect on March 2nd.

“SVEIT consists of 150 operators, which run more than 240 companies. We do not believe we are bound by SA’s decision to impose this work ban on Efling members,” says Ásvaldsson.

In support of this, he points out that SVEIT is outside of the SA/Efling negotiations, and that the separate collective bargaining unit of SVEIT and Efling has already been referred to the state mediator. Therefore, they believe that SA does not have the authority to negotiate on behalf of companies in SVEIT.

This position is controversial, but Ásvaldsson says legal opinions in support of it are available and that SVEIT is convinced of its legitimacy.

Unable to support the actions

Clearly, there is a disagreement within the SVEIT association over the working practices of the SA, but members of the association believe that the SA does not take sufficient account of the companies in the restaurant industry and they want to get to the negotiating table. Ásvaldsson told mbl.is that new collective bargaining agreements could be fatal for a number of companies in the restaurant sector.

“The association has not had a seat at the negotiating table nor participated in the SA work ban election despite being the largest corporate interest group in the restaurant market. As a result, the association cannot support actions aimed at delivering a collective bargaining agreement that we have not received for review or comment,” a notice from the association stated.

At the same time, it is pointed out that the members of SVEIT count for 150 restaurant operators who run 240 restaurants in the Efling area. According to SVEIT, this is estimated to represent 55 percent of all jobs in that market.

Want Efling to negotiate directly with SVEIT

SVEIT directs the members of Efling to say that if they want to negotiate the terms of the staff within SVEIT, then the only way to do that is to enter into discussions directly with the association.

"As is made clear in SVEIT’s demand to negotiatie for their members, SA does not have the authority to enter into a collective bargaining agreement on behalf of the companies in SVEIT.”