The operations of two contractors participating in the Kárahnjúkar dam project in Iceland’s eastern highlands with an illegal foreign-born workforce were not stopped yesterday, as the Directorate of Labor planned to do.
Gissur Pétursson, head of the Directorate, said an agreement had been reached. Arnarfell, the senior contractor for the specific area in question, is now responsible for hiring the employees of German sub-contractor Hünnebeck Polska, who had not registered all of its foreign-born employees. The contracts will be valid from September 1 onwards and Arnarfell will take responsibility for all employees, both Icelandic and foreign, Bladid reports.
“They will submit salary slips and documents to confirm payments. Then we will review the documents in cooperation with experts to see whether those payments have been made,” Pétursson said.
“Arnarfell is responsible for paying what is missing since these people began working in this country. We have ensured that no one who is participating in this project will get a lower payment than what Icelandic wage contracts indicate,” Pétursson concluded.
Arnarfell has until September 20 to deliver the required documents.
The Directorate of Labor was notified that some of the foreign-born laborers working for Arnafell’s sub-contractors on the Kárahnjúkar dam project had not been registered in Iceland after a bus accident in late August.
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