This morning, news appeared in the media based on a statement issued by the Association of Catering Companies (SVEIT). In the statement, SVEIT complains that its so-called collective agreement with the pseudo-union Virðing has been “made suspicious.”
SVEIT can blame itself for this. The agreement in question contains numerous serious violations of the provisions of Icelandic law on the minimum rights of people in the labor market.
It should be noted that SVEIT itself has acknowledged the serious shortcomings of its so-called collective agreement, in its statement from December 11. It stated that SVEIT considered itself compelled to review the agreement.
Relationship between SVEIT and Virðing
The statement claims that SVEIT was not involved in any way in the establihing of Virðing. On Virðing’s board of directors sits Jóhann Stefánsson, a well-known restaurateur who has owned and operated restaurants in Akureyri in recent years, such as the Hamburger Factory, Lemon, and most recently Litla Mathöllin. At least two of Jóhann’s companies are on SVEIT’s list of companies, submitted to the Companies Court on 11.9.2023.
Also on the board of directors of Virðing is Jóhanna Sigurbjörg Húnfjörð, who is the wife of Styrmir Bjarki Smárason, who again is the operations manager of Fiskmarkaðarinn. Fiskmarkaðarinn is a member of SVEIT and is owned by Hrefna Rósa Sætran. Jóhanna sits on the boards of several catering companies along with Styrmir and Hrefna Rósa. Hrefna Rósa’s husband is Björn Árnason, who owns Skúli Craft Bar, another SVEIT member company. Björn is the chairman of the board of SVEIT.
Also on the board of directors of Virðing is Ronja Björk Bjarnadóttir, the 18-year-old daughter of Hrefna Björk Sverrisdóttir, the owner of ROK. Hrefna Björk is a former chairwoman and until recently a board member of SVEIT.
Also on the board of directors of Virðing is Herborg Sveinbjörnsdóttir, the operations manager of Mathús Garðabæjar. Mathús Garðabæjar is a member company of SVEIT.
The so-called “collective agreement” between Virðing and SVEIT has nothing to do with legal and actual collective agreements, where representatives of workers and employers each look after their interests.
This is a case of fraud and deceit where a group of employers negotiate with themselves about the terms of their employees, through a pseudo-union where they themselves sit on the board along with their spouses and children.
Cuts disguised as increases
The statement seizes on the straw that claims that the so-called collective agreement between SVEIT and Virðing involves “reinforcing day work.” The basis for this claim is presumably that at the beginning of the contract period, the basic wage for day work will be 3% higher than in Efling’s collective agreement with SA.
As with everything else concerning Virðing and SVEIT, this is untrue. The basic wage for day work in their pseudo-collective agreement will decrease over the contract period compared to Efling’s rates and will be 6% lower by the year 2027. This can be clearly seen in the following table:
It should be noted that this only refers to the basic wage for day work, as most of the work in the catering sector is done in shifts in the evenings and on weekends. SVEIT’s attempts to cut wages are mostly focused on work outside of daytime hours.
In SVEIT’s collective agreement, daytime working hours are extended by 3 hours on weekdays and also include Saturdays. Efling has previously published calculations showing that this would lead to a 10% reduction in total wages for a full-time employee on a typical shift pattern.
Running away from themselves
It is noteworthy that information about Virðing’s and SVEIT’s executives changes from day to day.
Virðing listed Valdimar Leó Friðriksson as the company’s CEO on its website in November but has now added a caveat that he will not start work until January 2025.
Virðing has also removed Jóhanna Húnfjörð’s name from its website and only mentions Jafet Thor Arnfjörð Sigurðarson and Jóhann Stefánsson as board members.
Hrefna Björk Sverrisdóttir was named chairwoman of SVEIT on the organization’s website in November, but in December the chair had passed to Björn Árnason, owner of Skúli Craft Bar and husband of Hrefna Sætran, owner of Fiskmarkaðurinn. The latest developments are that today, December 17, Hrefna Björk Sverrisdóttir’s name has been removed from the board of directors on the website.
It seems that SVEIT representatives and their accomplices in the pseudo-union Virðing are running away from themselves.
Resignations from SVEIT are pouring in
Last week, Efling sent a letter to restaurant representatives who are members of SVEIT. Responses have been received from most of them, or 90 out of 123. Of those Efling has contacted, the overwhelming majority, or 83, have declared that they will follow Efling’s legal agreement with SA. Furthermore, 39 companies have declared that they have withdrawn from SVEIT or are in the process of withdrawing.
Efling is still receiving notifications from restaurants about withdrawals from SVEIT or confirmation that the pseudo-collective agreement with Virðing will not be followed
Efling encourages restaurant managers who are or have been in SVEIT to contact the union if they have not already done so.
Efling expresses great satisfaction with the positive response of restaurateurs to the union’s messages, as it has been clearly stated that the majority of them intend to respect the law, order, and honest conduct in the Icelandic labor market.