Icelandair Hotels Deducting From Pay Of Workers Who Went On Strike

Even though a collective bargaining agreement was reached last week between management and several labour unions, amongst them Efling and VR, RÚV reports that not all of the disputes have been resolved. In fact, a new development has risen amongst Efling and VR workers at Icelandair Hotels.

It has come to light that Icelandair Hotels is deducting from the salaries of those union workers who were on leave from their shifts during the days that the now-ended strikes were occurring. Þórey Magnea Hjálmarsdóttir, the managing director of Icelandair Hotels, told reporters that she believes the company is well within their rights, as her understanding was that union workers could be paid their equivalent wage during the days the strikes took place.

However, Efling managing director Viðar Þorsteinsson says it was never the intent of the strike fund to pay those workers who were scheduled on leave during the strike days.

“We consider this outrageous, and people are coming to us very upset that they’ve been cheated out of their pay for 12,000 ISK to 25,000 ISK,” he told reporters. “This is of course very petty, I must say, of Icelandair Hotels to play this game. These are people working for minimum wage who have difficulty making ends meet.”

Efling is currently processing demands for backpay for these workers. If management does not meet these demands, the matter will go to court.