Representatives from the British union Unite the Union came to Iceland this morning and met with the staff of Efling Union. That meeting was not the main purpose of the trip though. Members of the union are currently on strike action against Bakkavör, and the purpose of their trip is to draw public attention to the actions and struggle of members of Unite the Union who work in Bakkavör’s factory.
As is well known, Bakkavör is half-owned by the brothers Lýður and Ágúst Guðmundssons, who founded the company originally in 1986. Bakkavör runs a factory in Spalding, England, where food products are produced that are sold by retail chains such as Tesco. About 400 members of Unite the Union who work at the factory have been on strike since September 27 to demand higher wages.
Representatives of Unite the Union will protest Bakkavör’s intransigence in the wage dispute in various ways in Iceland. Today they met Viðar Þorsteinsson, director of the education and social department of Efling, and Karl Héðinn Kristjánsson, an employee of the department. Then the representatives of Unite the Union plan to meet the Efling confidants tomorrow.
Efling is pleased to be able to support the struggle of our sister unions in the neighboring countries, especially when it comes to Icelandic employers.