Because of a striking interview with Efling’s union representative, M. Andreina Edwards Quero, at the company Ræstitækni ehf., which appeared on RÚV’s on February 14, Efling Union would like to provide the following information.
In March 2024, Ræstitækni management began interfering in Andreina’s work as a union rep and behaving in a way that showed her hostility. This included the following:
- Efling was contacted and Andreina was accused of spreading false information to co-workers without any justification for the accusations against her.
- Andreina was called to a meeting with three superiors where she was told that she should not have direct communication with her co-workers about wage issues and that she would have to seek permission from her superior to do so. This is a violation of workers’ rights.
- Andreina was ordered by her superiors to admit to her co-workers that she had given them false information. There was no evidence that she had done so.
- Andreina was denied access to Efling’s union rep course, contrary to the provisions of the collective agreement.
- On the same day that Andreina held a staff meeting to inform co-workers of their rights and offer them Efling’s assistance in investigating their conditions, two of her colleagues were dismissed. Both were friends of Andreina and had spoken out about rights issues in the company.
- Efling’s lawyer made a verbal agreement with Ræstitækni that Andreina would receive extended maternity leave due to illness. Ræstitækni broke this promise, in violation of laws.
Ræstitækni violates collective agreements in numerous ways
Efling has repeatedly requested meetings with Ræstitækni representatives and data on the organization of the work, without success. The Confederation of Icelandic Employers has undertaken to respond fot the company from April 2024 and has supported its position.
Ræstitækni employs over 30 Efling members. Most are from Venezuela and many of them only speak Spanish. They drive between workplaces and are required to complete cleaning at up to 13 different locations within the same day, across the capital area. They are monitored via GPS equipment. Employees have no access to toilets or facilities to eat during the day. Their working day is structured in such a way that they do not get any meal breaks.
Ræstitækni employees have to complete work within a certain time, often at a high work rate. This is called time-measured piecework, for which a 20% higher hourly rate should be paid. No Ræstitækni employee is paid a salary accordingly.
Measurements that Efling had a foreign expert do show that it is impossible to do the work that Ræstitækni requires at the work rate the company requests. Andreina’s work rate at the workplace that was measured should have been 190, but the normal work rate according to collective agreements is 100.
A health and safety audit conducted at the workplace for Andreina after she became pregnant states that she “rarely has secure access to a toilet” and “therefore has some kind of bowl in the car that she uses for urination.” The owner of the company said in a RÚV report on February 14 that he was not aware of this, although the company itself had ordered the audit and sent it to Efling’s lawyer.