It is remarkable that Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate, should choose to align himself with the Restaurant Employers’ Association (SVEIT) by taking part in an event organised by them. As is well known, SVEIT established the pseudo-union Virðing, a brazen attempt to reduce the wages and rights of working people while simultaneously lining the pockets of restaurant owners.
This morning, 19 September, Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, chair of the Efling trade union, sent a formal appeal on behalf of the union to the Minister, urging him to withdraw from the so-called SVEIT Autumn Meeting, scheduled for 24 September. “I am astonished that you should choose to take part in an event organised by SVEIT, which clearly serves the purpose of whitewashing the association and lending it an air of respectability. I am surprised that you are willing to let yourself and your position as a minister in the government of Iceland be used in this way,” reads Sólveig Anna’s appeal.
For many months, Efling has warned against the fraudulent scheme operated by SVEIT and Virðing, whose purpose is to deprive working people in a weak position of money and rights through deception. The conduct of SVEIT has, in fact, been condemned by almost the entire Icelandic trade union movement. SVEIT and Virðing are also under official investigation by the Competition Authority. Efling’s chair therefore calls on Minister Jóhann Páll to withdraw his participation in SVEIT’s event.
Sólveig Anna intended to hand the appeal to the Minister in person this morning at the ministry, but was unable to do so. Instead, a ministry staff member received the appeal and promised to deliver it to the Minister as soon as possible.
The full text of Efling’s appeal is available below.
Reykjavík, 19 September 2025
Subject: Appeal
Dear Jóhann Páll,
I have learned that you have decided to take part in an event organised by the Icelandic Hospitality Association (SVEIT) on 24 September, entitled “SVEIT Autumn Meeting”. According to the announcement, you intend to honour the gathering by giving the opening address.
As you and most people following the news in Iceland are no doubt aware, at the end of last year, SVEIT entered into a collective agreement with the association Virðing, which calls itself a trade union. This collective agreement is unusual in that it was SVEIT who created the association in question. Board members of SVEIT and representatives of its member companies appointed themselves, their spouses, and their children to Virðing’s board. Virðing is therefore not a real trade union but a pseudo-union under SVEIT’s control. It is a shabby pretence, serving the purpose of enabling SVEIT employers to make agreements with themselves.
Efling warned against the activities of Virðing and SVEIT’s fraud as early as December 2024. By bypassing the genuine trade unions of workers in the industry, SVEIT violated all the rules and ethical standards of the labour market, seeking to profit from workers in a weak position through trickery and deceit. No employee would voluntarily and uncoerced accept the collective agreement of SVEIT and Virðing, as it entails cuts to wages and rights compared with the legally valid agreements in the hospitality sector, as Efling has publicly pointed out.
A large number of Icelandic unions, federations, and national labour organisations have condemned the conduct of SVEIT and its sham collective bargaining with Virðing. Among them are the Federation of General and Special Workers in Iceland, the Icelandic Confederation of Labour, the National Confederation of Icelandic Retail Workers, BSRB, and BHM.
SVEIT and Virðing are currently under official investigation by the Competition Authority following a complaint filed last spring by Efling, the Federation of General and Special Workers, and the Icelandic Confederation of Labour.
I am astonished that you should choose to take part in an event organised by SVEIT, which clearly serves the purpose of whitewashing the association and lending it an air of respectability. I am surprised that you are willing to let yourself and your position as a minister in the government of Iceland be used in this way.
By this letter, I urge you to withdraw your participation in the said event.
Sincerely,
Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir
Chair of Efling – trade union