The board of Efling has faced a lot of criticism since lay­ing off all employees working in the union’s office. This decision, made by the chairman Sólveig Anna Jóns­dóttir, has trig­gered some harsh responses from the public. People seem to either condemn the chairman’s decision or embrace it as part of Jóns­dóttir’s fight for sal­ary increase for the lowest paid.

Members of the union have requested a meeting tomorrow to discuss the board’s decision and get chance to have their opinions on the matter heard. The meeting will take place in Vals­heim­ilið, at 18 o’clock.

Gabríel Benjamin, Rights and Employ­ment Terms Officer at Efling, said in an interview with Mannlíf yester­day:

„I am glad that mem­bers of the union will be truly able to have their voices heard, to really express how they feel about these actions.“

The consulting firm Hag­vangur will handle the hir­ing of new employees for the various positions at the office of Efling. The process will be expensive.

Employees working in the office are now 57 but the positions are meant to be only 40 after the hir­ing of new per­sonnel. The positions in the office will ther­efore be 17 fewer than before. Hag­vangur is likely set to hire six people for the positions of division mana­gers, mana­gers, and assistant mana­gers. The price tag for hir­ing a division mana­ger or mana­ger is ISK 890.000, according to Vísir. Hiring of general office employees and other specialists is said to cost between ISK 330.000 to ISK 445.000 per employee.

According to these num­bers, the cost of hir­ing new employees for the office of Efling will be at least ISK 15 million; possi­bly even more.

One of the main argu­ments the board has used for lay­ing off the office employees is cutting costs and gett­ing certified for equal pay.