All four paid employees of the National Queer Organisation have been laid off, Vísir reports. This is due to contracts with both the national government and Reykjavík City running out at the end of this year, and a new contract currently not on the table. The managing director is hopeful that the situation can be reversed soon.
“It’s happening now for the first time, while we have actual staff, that our contracts with both the national government and the largest municipality, Reykjavík, expire at the same time,” Daníel E. Arnarsson told reporters. “When I sat down with my board recently, we saw that in actuality without these two contracts, there were no operational grounds for our work in January. So what we need now is a clearer answer from the government and the City of Reykjavík, what they intend to do, how they intend to accommodate us.”
Speaking to RÚV, Daníel said that these layoffs were a precautionary measure, adding, “Talks with the City of Reykjavík have begun and we have a good relationship with the Prime Minister’s office.” If successful, these layoffs will be rescinded.
Daníel is hopeful that the new contracts will be better than those previous, saying, “The organisation has received far too little funding, especially compared to other Nordic countries. We have been imploring the Prime Minister’s office to give us a longer contract than a year at a time. We’d also like to get more ministries involved in the contract so that we can have more comprehensive operations.”
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