Timarit Eflingar

22 TÍMARIT EFLINGAR-STÉTTARFÉLAGS the quadrupling in the amount of foreign employees with- in the industry from 2008 – 2019. The number of workers increased by 2,427 during this time, with the largest increase of 2,000 between the years 2016 and 2018. As in the previous bubble before the collapse with the construction of real estate and power plants, there was an unusually large amount of labor abuses. At Kárahnjúkar the temporary staffing agency was notorious for the harsh treatment of workers, a manager at an Icelandic temporary staffing agency was quoted as saying „If the Poles had any complaints, [the foreman] should just beat them because they were used to it.“ Numerous studies and cases brought to trade unions showed history was repeating itself – there was a significant amount of wage theft and other violations within the tourism and construction industries. To translate, class crime was most prevalent in the sectors which sought after foreign workers the most. Drive economic growth When immigration and economic growth are compared, it shows that immigrants are kindling for economic growth. They ignite the economy, work hard for low pay, and are the first to lose their jobs when work slows down. Foreign labor was sought after to make beds, drive buses and build houses to pave the way for the rapid development of the construction and tourism industries. When an open economy and regular employment were not enough, gaps were filled using temporary staffing agencies who sold labor by the hour. When work began to dry up, the most insecure, temporary hires were the first to lose out – temporary staffing agencies were a clear example of this. The number of employees at these agencies decreased from 3.200 in 2018 to 1.900 in the year 2019. The number of foreign workers in the tourism also peaked and began to recede during those years. 2% of all residents in illegal housing Foreign workers are often given accomodation by their employers and even, in the case of workers from outside the EEA, their residence permit from their employer. Unfor- tunately, there are many examples of employers exploiting these workers by deducting large sums of money as rent for cramped and even dangerous unlicensed housing. An exam- ple, reported in the media, was the company HD verk that charged 80.000 kr. per person in a six person room. There are regular reports of foreign workers living in inad- equate housing. The fire department’s investigation in the capital area revealed that almost 100 children and 1.000 adults were registered as living in industrial housing in 2017 and there has been a clear increase in this number in recent years. The Department of Housing and Civil Engineering esti- mates in its report Population Needs Iceland 2020 to 2040 that between 5.300 and 6.800 people, representing about 2% of the population, live in between 1.500 and 2.000 unli- censed accommodation in the country. It is assumed that a high percentage of this group are workers of foreign origin, both adults and children. A working group with representatives from Mannvirkja­ stofnun, Registers Iceland, Capital Area Fire Department and ASÍ was finally set up by the government last autumn to take on the issue of unlicensed housing. This move comes in the aftermath of a the terrible fire at Bræðaborgarstígur 1 which resulted in the death of three foreign workers. The working group found that since construction will not meet the need of 1.830 new apartments per year in the near future, there will be no reduction in the number of residents in unlicensed housing. In light of this, an amendment to the current law is proposed to make it possible to register the residence of people in unli- censed residences even if the legal domicile is registered as “not located in a residential house“. This provides both neces- sary overview in the number of inhabitants in each unlicensed residence and an opportunity to ensure minimum standards for fire protection. Solidarity and fighting spirit When the collective agreements expired at the end of 2018, anger over the ongoing class warfare became apperent. Poli- ticians had given themselves big raises while ignoring severe problems such as housing shortages for the labor force that kept the economy moving at a whirlwind pace. Large tourism companies paid generous dividends to their owners while the employees of the same companies remained at the private sector’s lowest wages.