Timarit Eflingar

TÍMARIT EFLINGAR-STÉTTARFÉLAGS 3 The Icelandic government promised a law to eradicate the stain of wage theft. That promise has not been fulfilled. This is a disgrace. Young and immigrant workers are the primary victims of wage theft in the amount of hundreds of millions of kronur every year. In 2015-2019, more than a billion was stolen from Efling members. Efling’s vice chair was a victim of wage theft. The undersigned will never accept anything other than the fulfillment of the promise that was given to us. Anything else is out of the question. The current unemployment crisis is affecting workers and low wage earners the most. Currently there are more than 26.000 people who are completely or partially unemployed and long term unemployment is steadily rising. Unemploy- ment is hitting immigrant workers heavily; three fourths of unemployed Efling members are of foreign origin. It should be clear that low wage workers in one of the most expensive countries in the world have not had the opportunity to save much money. Therefore, workers who have been unemployed for months have run out of funds long ago, if they even had any to begin with. Unemployment benefits are so low that people who depend on them live in poverty. The number of people who need to seek aid from food banks or relief agen- cies has never been higher. The situation is dire. The obvi- ous solution is for the government to immediately begin a major job creation programme so that workers may escape the poverty trap of unemployment. The capital area housing market is a major source of diffi- culty for workers. Rent there rose four times more than in Forwords other Nordic countries in recent years. For workers and low wage earners rent is a burden and takes up a large part of their disposable income. The reality is that the authorities have completely neglected the fundementals of ensuring access to affordable housing for workers. Instead they have done everything to make the housing market a plaything of the rich with disasterous consequences. Additionally, there is a significant housing shortage, forcing people to accept accomodation in uninhabitable housing such as the house on Bræðraborgarstígur where three young people died in apalling conditions last summer. When examining the state of Icelandic national affairs, it is obvious that the authorites have no interest in making the lives of workers and low wage earners better. Promises are given and not fulfilled while Icelandic employers and financi- ers are given everything they want. Many immigrant work- ers do not even have the right to vote in Iceland. They work in critical industries, pay taxes but do not even enjoy basic democratic rights. It is a disgrace! But there is one weapon that both native born and newcomers can use to push for real change: our union! If we stand together in our fight for economic justice and use the strength solidarity gives us, we can truly win. Our solidarity has never been more important than it is now. Agnieszka Ewa Ziólkowska, varaformaður Eflingar