The Chair of Sameyki and the President of BSRB warn that the government’s bill is extremely serious and is being rushed through Parliament, threatening the rights and job security of public sector workers.
Posts by Sameyki stéttarfélag í almannaþjónustu
A satirical ad in Morgunblaðið imagines the Finance Minister being fired without warning — highlighting what could happen if dismissal protections like the warning requirement are removed.
Union leaders criticize the Prime Minister’s contradictory remarks, highlighting the gap between her stated commitment to workers’ rights and government proposals that would weaken employment protections for public sector workers.
In this commentary, Axel Jón Ellenarson, editor at Sameyki, warns of a serious attack on public sector workers’ rights. He argues that weakening employment protections undermines job security, due process and the foundations of fair and effective public services.
Unions representing public servants, teachers and nurses have launched a campaign against government plans threatening workers’ rights, job security and due process, calling for respect for labour rights and essential public services.
The government plans to strip workers of their rights — Sameyki urges members to learn about the threat to job security and due process.
The government’s plans are putting the rights of tens of thousands of public sector workers at risk — threatening job security and public services that society relies on.
Strong criticism of remarks by Diljá Mist Einarsdóttir, MP for the right-wing Independence Party, about public sector workers. Union leaders condemn the disrespect shown toward those who keep essential services running and call for dignity and respect.
The Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, Viðskiptaráð, representing the interests of major private companies, has launched a campaign against workers’ sick leave rights. They speak of “costs” and “competitiveness” — but remain silent on people’s security, public health, and decent working conditions.
Viðskiptaráð, hagsmunasamtök stærstu fyrirtækja landsins, hefur hafið áróður gegn veikindarétti launafólks. Þau tala um „kostnað“ og „samkeppnishæfni“ – en þegja um öryggi fólks, lýðheilsu og mannsæmandi vinnuskilyrði. Formaður BSRB svarar áróðri Viðskiptaráðs í grein á vef Sameykis.
Laugardaginn 17. janúar næstkomandi eru liðin 100 ár frá stofnun Starfsmannafélags Reykjavíkurborgar, annað af stofnfélögum Sameykis. Af því tilefni ætlar Sameyki að halda upp á tímamótin með opnu húsi í Tjarnarsal í Ráðhúsi Reykjavíkur milli kl. 15:00 og 17:00. Þér er boðið!
Starfsfólk Sameykis óskar félagsfólki og landsmönnum öllum gleðilegra jóla. Við þökkum ykkur kærlega fyrir samskiptin og samstarfið á árinu sem er að líða og óskum ykkur farsældar á komandi ári.
Sameyki encourages all its members to take an active part in the day — whether by stopping paid or unpaid work for the entire day, as women first did during the United Nations International Women’s Year in 1975, and by attending solidarity gatherings
The Women’s Strike 2025 will be held on Friday, October 24, when women across the country will stop working to highlight the importance of equality in both words and actions.
Kvennaverkfall 2025 verður haldið föstudaginn 24. október. Sameyki hvetur allt félagsfólk sitt til að taka virkan þátt í deginum, hvort sem er með því að leggja niður launuð eða ólaunuð störf allan daginn eins og konur gerðu fyrst á kvennaári Sameinuðu þjóðanna árið 1975 og mæta á samstöðufundi.
“For democracy and social justice, the right to strike is fundamental, and this must be recognised once and for all in international law." - ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle
Í pistli lögfræðings Sameykis er varað við að núverandi að bótaréttur fangavarða sé ekki nægilega tryggður í hættulegum kringumstæðum í stöfum fangavarða. Sameyki kallar eftir umbótum.
Leaders of the labor movement in Iceland harshly criticize the government. “It is unprecedented for the government to make a unilateral decision to change the fundamental rights of working people without consulting the labor movement.”
Í Tímariti Sameykis er fjallað um verkalýðspólitík, mannréttindi, efnahagsmál, stéttabaráttu, jafnrétti, lágmarkslaun, kjaramál, orlofsmál o.m.fl. www.sameyki.is/frettir/utge...
Daniel Bartossa says that members of public sector trade unions must take part in the struggle to defend public jobs, which neoliberalism and right-wing forces aligned with market fundamentalism and populism are seeking to dismantle. @psiglobalunion.bsky.social
„Um allan heim má sjá stéttarfélögin berjast gegn þessari óheillaþróun þar sem félagsfólk hafnar hræðsluáróðri og falsloforðum öfgahægrisinna.“ @psiglobalunion.bsky.social
Instead of improving the wages and conditions of employees who work demanding jobs in the health, social, and education sectors, the government intends to erode the fundamental rights of workers.
The BSRB leadership strongly condemns Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir’s government’s plans is to:
➡️ Abolishing the requirement to issue warnings without consultation
➡️ Curtailing workers’ rights to unemployment insurance
➡️ Abolishing equalization contributions to pension funds
The BSRB leadership strongly condemns Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir’s government’s plans to curtail the statutory rights of employees working in public services.
BSRB demands that all of these plans be withdrawn and that efforts be made to foster peace in the labor market.
That is a declaration of war against the labor movement. Of course, we want to equalize conditions between the private and public labor markets, but that must be done upwards – not downwards.
When the cost-cutting proposals were presented by the government, we believed many of them favored the Confederation of Employers. For example, there was a proposal to adapt public service laws to the private labor market, which would mean reduced rights for public employees.
„Skerðing réttinda opinbers starfsfólks er stríðsyfirlýsing við verkalýðshreyfinguna,“ segir Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir, formaður BSRB, í viðtali í nýjasta Tímariti Sameykis.
Mika Mickelsson, Secretary of the Nordic Council and an employee of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland, spoke about the work when looking at the role of the trade unions.
"We in Finland need to prepare for war and have been building up our resilience and will continue to do so."
Mika Mickelsson, ritari hjá Norðurlandaráði og starfsmaður í Utanríkisráðuneytinu í Finnlandi sagði frá störfum Norrænu ráðherranefndarinnar. „Við í Finnlandi þurfum að búa okkur undir stríð og höfum verið að auka viðnámsþrótt og munum halda því áfram.“ @nordenorg.bsky.social
Janne Känkänen, CEO of the Finland Emergency Institute, discussed infrastructure security at the NSO conference in Helsinki because of the threat from Russia. "We have built up infrastructure that can withstand shocks because we have to be ready when an emergency is created."