Around 700 hotel workers in Reykjavík and the surrounding area will go on strike tomorrow, RÚV reports. While the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise contested the legality of the strike vote conducted by Efling Union, the Labour Court ruled today that the process was fully legal.
The one-day work stoppage will begin at 10:00 am tomorrow morning and will end at 23:59. The strike affects around 700 Efling Union members working in cleaning, housekeeping, and laundry services in hotels and guest houses in the Reykjavík capital area, as well as some nearby municipalities.
SA had disputed the legality of the vote, saying that according to the Unions and Labour Disputes Act, only union members directly affected by a proposed strike are permitted to vote on the action. Efling had permitted some 8,000 members to vote, not only those directly affected by the strike. SA then took the case to the Labour Court, who announced a ruling in Efling’s favour this afternoon.
Efling’s chairperson Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir stated she was “incredibly happy” about the ruling. “I very much look forward to tomorrow,” she told reporters.
