Board Efling of the union has decided to fund Matthildi, an organization for harm reduction, with 1.7 million kronur. The Matthildi organization was founded in 2022 and focuses on harm‑reduction services at the early stages of substance abuse. The aim of harm reduction is to help people stay alive, protect their health, both physical and mental, and to empower them in all small steps towards positive change. Matthildi runs the harm‑reduction service Reyk. The service is free of charge for everyone and places a special emphasis on reaching people at the early stages of substance abuse, with the aim of preventing a more serious development of the problem and untimely deaths. In the period from 4 February 2025 to 31 January 2026, Reyk has provided service to 235 individuals on 1,100 occasions. Of these, 25 percent of the clients are employed, and some of them are members of Efling. These individuals struggle with substance abuse as well as poverty and difficult social circumstances. A steady increase in opioid problems has occurred over the past nearly fifteen years. In addition, problems related to cocaine use, crack and methamphetamine smoking have risen steadily over the last decade. It is very important to provide the group facing this problem with harm‑reduction services and support for recovery. The Reyk service is for many the first point of contact for assistance and provides clients with extensive support, follow‑up and connection to social and health services. Matthildi has assisted many in substance‑use treatment, opioid medication treatment and obtaining appropriate social services. In doing so, the organization has helped individuals recover and be able to keep housing, mental health and continue working.
Stefán Ólafsson writes: The Central Bank is cooling the economy, hoping to bring down inflation. It does this by keeping interest rates high, which bites at indebted households and businesses. However, it does not work on foreign price increases, nor on inflation due to rising housing costs, nor on demand expansion of indebted and high‑income individuals and companies, nor on expansion due to private consumption of a large number of tourists. These measures of the Central Bank have ultimately shown to deliver only limited results and are increasingly extremely unfair in the distribution of burdens. But the Central Bank's method certainly cools the economy, it almost reduces economic growth and increases unemployment. That is the cost of applying the high‑interest policy. Recently the analysis department of Landsbankinn published its economic forecast for the years 2026 to 2028, which assumes growth of only 1.6 to 1.8% over the next three years. That is less than the projected population growth in the country, according to the Statistics Iceland forecast. Growth per capita will therefore be negative. In reality, this means that the economy has entered a stagnation that is expected to continue at least until 2028. This can be seen in the picture below, which shows growth per capita.
Last Monday, May 4, 30 Efling members graduated from Vocational Course III in Kitchen and Canteen Work, from the Secondary School in Kópavogur (MK). The courses have been held for years in collaboration between Efling and the school, and numerous Efling members have attended them, adding to their knowledge and laying the foundation for further studies. A special feature of the graduation was that the students themselves took care of the food that was served. They cooked main courses and desserts from their countries of origin, and offered guests a variety of delicious treats. Efling and MK have offered three vocational courses of this type and most of the students who graduated now had all three vocational courses. Most of them did this in parallel with full-time work and traditional family life, which speaks volumes about the hard work behind the group. The vocational courses have proven to be a first step in further education for many and five students from this graduating group have already registered for continuing food service training. The vocational courses are intended for staff who work in cooking or service in kitchens and canteens. The training is fully paid for by Efling . The courses include both practical and theoretical teaching that is useful in the workplace, and in vocational course 3, special emphasis is placed on menu planning, cooking for vegetarians and people with allergies and intolerances. The courses are taught in Icelandic with extensive Icelandic support, where vocabulary related to the course material is reviewed. This arrangement has proven successful, both in strengthening vocabulary in cooking and giving participants the opportunity to practice Icelandic in connection with real-life work situations. Efling sincerely congratulates its members on their success.
