News - 24.01.2025
An Idea Born at the Bar in 2005
About twenty years ago, I was sitting at a bar with a good friend of mine, specifically at Ölstofa Kormáks & Skjaldar, amidst the smoky haze that was then considered normal for bars. My friend lived abroad, and every time she came home, we would sit down and catch up. She often brought a new perspective to our conversations, and on this particular occasion, she remarked that living in Iceland was good. Life quality was relatively high, and life itself was comfortable. I tried to push back, mentioning the bad weather and corruption, among other grievances that were current at the time. She was undeterred, adding that what could make Iceland better was population growth. “We need to reach one million,” she said, explaining that having more people would simply make it easier to maintain a strong and just society. It was clear that we wouldn’t reach that number quickly with the 2-point-something children per woman recorded in the birth rate at the time. Population growth would have to come from other means.
From 1% to 17%
At that time, 1% of VR members were of foreign origin, and about 7% of the labor market was made up of immigrants. The free movement of people had come into effect, something many feared would harm both the labor market and society as a whole. Although many people were positive about increased diversity, it was not a common viewpoint that population growth through immigration should be a goal in itself.
Much has changed since then. About 17% of VR members now come from abroad and work in various roles. Some staff the tills at Krónan, while others contribute to the production of prosthetics at Össur. At Alvotech, employees hail from over sixty nationalities, and everyone working at CCP knows that diversity is a key factor in the company’s success. When you take a flight abroad with Icelandair, it’s not unlikely that the check-in desk is manned by an immigrant who has built a life in Iceland. Such lists could go on, as immigrant employment rates are higher than those of native-born Icelanders. It’s safe to say that without the contribution of immigrants, many businesses and institutions would be nearly impossible to run. However, it’s worth pausing to ask how well we’ve succeeded in creating unity among all of us who now live and work in Iceland.
A Campaign for Inclusion
Today, VR is launching a campaign for workplace inclusion. In earlier times, the common approach was to talk about assimilation, where newcomers were expected to adapt to those already here. The minority was supposed to become like the majority. Those of us who have participated in the fight for equality know this emphasis well from earlier days when women in the labor market were expected to adapt to the prevailing male culture if they wanted to advance in their careers or even have opinions on contemporary issues. Later, it became clear that this dominant male culture might not have been the best, either for work or workplace morale. Inclusion, however, shifts the responsibility to the group as a whole. It involves adapting to each other and allowing diversity to flourish for the benefit of everyone.
VR has frequently undertaken initiatives that aim to raise awareness about the structure of society and the impact of entrenched ideas on workplace culture. We are now raising our voices, at the initiative of the union’s Equality and Human Rights Committee, to promote fair pay for immigrants in the labor market and ensure they receive the support and welcome they need to establish themselves in society. We encourage each other to consider what we can do in our own workplaces to foster inclusion rather than exclusion and regression.
We haven’t yet reached one million people, as my friend wished for us twenty years ago. However, we’ve stopped smoking indoors at bars (thankfully), and we’ve learned quite a bit that makes us better at being a society. Our population has grown, but we still have a long way to go to ensure everyone has a place in a larger community, where everyone is respected and valued. Let’s work together towards inclusion in the labor market.
Halla Gunnarsdóttir
Chair of VR
