1. May 2025 from the chairman
01. May 2025We Create The Value
Dear members,
Congratulations on the day!
Labour Day is celebrated all around the country under the slogan We Create The Value. This slogan serves as a reminder of the importance of wage earners in building the welfare society we live in and that, through solidarity, we here in Iceland have achieved success that is recognized globally. This year also marks fifty years since women stopped working in a memorable way, thereby making their mark on global history. This milestone is celebrated by dedicating the year to women, and the labour unions' festivities reflect that.
The labour movement has played a significant role in securing various rights for wage earners, to the benefit of society as a whole. The history of the movement spans well over 100 years here in Iceland, and during those years we have reached agreements on unemployment insurance, equal pay for equal work, the establishment of sick pay funds, rights to parental leave, holiday rights, and the list goes on and on.
Through collective agreements, the unions have secured minimum wage conditions for their members within whole industries, created a framework for working hours, sick leave rights, and notice periods, as well as numerous other agreement terms that set the rules for all of the labour market. Collective agreements are therefore, one of the main pillars of Icelandic society, providing predictability and a certain guarantee for the contracting parties, who are obligated to uphold them.
Unions abroad often look to the Nordic welfare model and the position that Scandinavian unions, and in particular the Icelandic ones, have established, as the proportion of wage earners with union membership is among the highest in the world. It is obvious that the negotiating power of federations representing the vast majority of wage earners is strong.
Abroad, this bargaining position is threatened in various ways; companies refuse to hire people who are registered with unions, and agreements are made with yellow unions that may even be owned by the companies themselves. The goal is always the same: to never pay wages above the lowest rates, to push workers’ rights to the limit, and to ensure that as small a portion of company profit as possible goes to society. Giants like Amazon and Tesla are at the forefront of this, with an explicit policy not to negotiate with unions. A well-known dispute is that of IF Metall in Sweden with Tesla, where the union is fighting for decent terms for its members while simultaneously defending the right of wage earners to negotiate their terms.
These threats also appear here in Iceland in the form of yellow unions such as Virðing, which is founded by employers with the sole aim of undermining the conditions of those with the lowest wages. One can also mention false self-employment and various attacks on the unions' bargaining freedom through proposed legislative changes affecting their operations. It is our role, now as before, to resist these threats and protect the rights that have been won through the unity and diligence of wage earners. With strength in numbers, we have achieved success with the goal of building a just society where all social classes share in the benefits. The fact is that in countries where the labour movement is strong, the conditions of the general public are better.
It is my hope that people across the country will come together and use the day to celebrate the milestone victories of the labour movement—this is our day!
Eiður Stefánsson, chairman for Landssambands íslenzkra verzlunarmanna and Félags verslunar- og skrifstofufólks Akureyri og nágrenni.