The operators of the restaurant Italia have been sentenced to a three-year business ban. Elvar Ingimarsson and Björgvin Narfi Ásgeirsson, former owners of Ítalgest ehf, the restaurant's operating company, were sentenced to a business ban by the Reykjavík District Court on January 12. The Supreme Court has now upheld the district court's ruling. Efling union initiated proceedings due to abuse, wage theft and violations of rights at the restaurant Italia, as well as at other restaurants run by Elvar and Björgvin Narfi, in September 2024. The union drew attention to numerous and serious violations of the rights of workers at the restaurants in question, which had been ongoing for a long time. Efling Board of Trustees adopted a resolution at its meeting on September 12, 2024, condemning the abuse of labor and wage theft at the restaurant Italia. After the meeting, a solidarity action was taken on Frakkastígur outside the restaurant. Efling then collected testimonies from employees who had worked in their company's restaurants, gathered data and presented them to draw attention to violations against workers. This created considerable media debate. The company Ítalgest was declared bankrupt on October 9, 2024. Elvar subsequently tried to claim that Efling legitimate actions had led to the bankruptcy. This was untrue, as a request for bankruptcy of Ítalgest had been submitted a week before Efling actions began. It therefore clearly showed the kind of impasse its owners had put the company in, with irresponsible operations and violations against employees. The District Court's judgment, and the confirmation of the Supreme Court, confirm the kind of violations that took place in the company's operations. The administrator of the bankruptcy estate of Ítalgest, Björn Þorri Viktorsson, demanded that Elvar and Björgvin Narfi be banned from business operations due to their involvement in the company, whose operations were more reminiscent of organized crime than restaurant operations. Thus, numerous unexplained payments were found from the company into the personal accounts of the partners, or to people with family ties to them. Claims against the bankruptcy estate amounted to around 116 million krónur, but almost no assets were found in it. Therefore, the partners, Elvar Ingimarsson and Björgvin Narfi Ásgeirsson, were sentenced to a three-year ban on business operations, which is the maximum penalty under the law. Efling welcomes the fact that what appears to have been organized, long-term criminal activity by the partners is being addressed. It is unacceptable that people can get away with violating workers for so many years, without any consequences. Here you can see Efling coverage of the criminal activities of Elvar Ingimarsson and Björgvin Narfi Ásgeirsson.
Guests, both foreign and domestic, addressed the session and contributed to the discussion, and their presentations attracted attention and sparked further discussion among the attendees. The accompanying photos from the session provide an insight into the atmosphere, from the work on issues and professional groups to the guest addresses.
Efling members demand that the government guarantee workers safe access to housing and that housing be recognized as a human right, not an investment tool. This is the keynote of the Efling resolution, which was approved on the final day of the session, February 27. The resolution emphasizes that housing security is a fundamental prerequisite for welfare and that the current situation, where many people live in insecurity and high costs, is unacceptable. Among the main demands are stricter rules against housing booms, including increased taxation on more than three properties and restrictions on short-term rentals. The members also want to place restrictions on investor buyouts of residential property and ensure that properties are primarily used by the country's residents. Efling also demands a clear and funded government plan to build around 4,000 apartments annually, in collaboration with local authorities, in addition to ensuring sufficient land supply and removing planning obstacles. There are also calls for more realistic payment estimates for housing loans, a reduction in interest rates and a limit on real interest rates. Members also want local authorities to build apartments and sell them at cost, for a portion of new construction to be specifically intended for first-time buyers and for interest rate subsidies to be increased. The resolution in its entirety can be read below. Owner-occupied housing Housing security should be a cornerstone of workers' welfare. The home is the place where workers regain their strength after a hard day's work. The home is the family's refuge, where children are raised and relationships are cultivated. The home is part of a wider community – an apartment building, a street, a neighborhood – which is connected to the preschool, the elementary school, the sports club, the swimming pool and social life. Feeling comfortable at home and knowing that there is a safe haven for the future is of infinite value. Children who experience rootlessness carry it with them into the future, which can cause school dropout, disorder and social problems. Putting a roof over their head should not be a source of anxiety, insecurity and distress or lead to incapacity for work for these reasons. Workers should not fear frequent relocations, that residence is subject to the landlord's discretion, that children must repeatedly change schools and groups of friends, or that housing costs will suddenly increase so that it becomes difficult to provide for the necessities of life. It is the demand Efling members that the Icelandic state guarantee workers who have permanent residence in Iceland secure access to owner-occupied housing. This should not be the privilege of the middle class and those who receive housing support as an inheritance. Efling members make the following demands to the Icelandic government regarding private housing: Housing is a human right, not a financial burden. Stricter rules must be set at all levels to combat the housing boom, for example by increasing property taxes after a third property, except for non-profit rental companies, and by making residential housing available for profit-driven short-term rentals. Usable residential housing, which already exists, should be used by the people of the country first and foremost, and this should be ensured through rules that work and incentives that are effective. Significant restrictions should be placed on the ability of financial owners to buy up apartments for profit. Anyone who buys an apartment in Iceland should be a taxpayer in Iceland. According to the Housing and Civil Engineering Institute, around four thousand apartments need to be built per year over the next few decades. The government needs to put together a time-bound and funded plan for increasing the number of apartments and work on it in collaboration with the municipalities and residents' associations so that the residents who live there are taken into account. It is necessary to ensure that land supply is available and that planning obstacles are removed. Such a plan must be realistic and based on the best possible forecasts of population growth in the coming decades. New housing must be built in a human- and family-friendly manner. Time limits should be set for the use of land after the building right has been purchased. The state should monitor that rules are enforced. Housing loans are an inevitable byproduct of acquiring housing. Efling members want sensible rules to be set for the implementation of payment assessments. Those who are already truly under high rent payments should be able to have their payment capacity assessed. Payment assessments should be assessed based on reality and not on artificial criteria. The current high-interest rate policy is intolerable. It is a great disappointment that the government's promise of an interest rate cut has turned into an inflated interest rate balloon that will, if anything, burst. The government needs to put together a realistic, timely and detailed plan on how to bring down inflation and get out of the high-interest environment in the next 2-6 years. Efling members support the involvement of the social partners in such a plan, as it should be about defending the interests and improving the situation of workers in Iceland. Set a limit on how much real interest the bank can charge on housing loans. It must be ensured that a sufficiently large proportion of newly built residential housing is intended for first-time buyers and workers. Municipalities build apartments to then sell at cost price. Rules on interest subsidies must be expanded. Efling members also demand that Gildir Pension Fund work within the pension fund system to promote more favorable housing loans for fund members.
