Trade union Eining-Iðja has completed its investigation of the Chinese restaurant Sjanghæ in Akureyri, concluding that its staff does get paid according to wage contracts.
Last week, RÚV (The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service) reported on the restaurant, claiming its owner, a Chinese born woman, was suspected of human trafficking, paying her Chinese staff a monthly salary of 30.000 kr ($285).
Jóhannes Sigurðarson, Sjanghæ’s lawyer told Bítið í Bylgjunni in an interview that RÚV’s report had completely surprised the restaurant’s owner, who has lived in Iceland since 1994. According to Jóhannes, her entire family was in shock. Upon his arrival at Akureyri, he spotted beverage producers removing their products from the restaurant. The owner had been blocked on social media and her daughter was too frightened to attend school.
He claimed that no contact had been made to the owner prior to the news report. Although the report stated that the owner was a suspect, the word itself is nevertheless a heavy accusation in itself. RÚV, being Iceland’s national broadcasting service is accessible to the entire country.
Jóhannes believes it very likely that Sjanghæ will sue RÚV for its report.
