From the 2021 Workdays of the Occupational Safety Inspectorate
Alleged violations of collective bargaining agreements or other labor-related violations can be reported to the email address maria@baran.is
All tips received are kept strictly confidential.
About workplace inspections
Monitoring of the implementation of collective bargaining agreements is conducted by the trade unions on behalf of the ASÍ.
This inspection is based on the Act No. 42/2010 on workplace certificates and inspections at workplaces. The purpose of this law is to ensure that employers in the domestic labor market comply with applicable laws, regulations, and collective bargaining agreements.
Báran has been conducting the monitoring since 2011, initially by the association's staff alongside other office duties. However, in 2015 a dedicated monitoring officer was hired who exclusively handles monitoring and follow-up. The monitoring department collaborates extensively with various public institutions involved in labor market oversight, such as the Directorate of Revenue, the Employment Service, the Occupational Safety Authority, the Directorate of Immigration, and the Police. The union also maintains good cooperation with other trade unions.
A large part of an inspector's job is to inform workers about their rights and responsibilities in the labor market and to ensure that they have access to the correct information. Inspectors are also required to report labor contract violations to the appropriate union and to public authorities if they suspect that there are other irregularities beyond direct violations of the contract.
The trade unions themselves have no authority over companies beyond what is permitted by collective bargaining agreements, but if there is suspicion of a violation of the law, other than a breach of contract, the matter is referred to the appropriate authorities. The law allows for the assistance of the police to be sought when necessary, such as if individuals are unable or unwilling to identify themselves, or if inspectors are prevented from accessing workplaces or staff. The union often receives tips about violations of labor contracts and working conditions from union representatives, colleagues, and the general public. When this occurs, the matter is followed up on by visiting the company in question, investigating the issues, and attempting to resolve them to the best of our ability.
Hundreds of workplaces are visited annually; for example, in 2018, 202 companies were visited and 6,320 individuals were interviewed at 1,413 workplaces. In 2019, 200 companies were visited and 5,945 individuals were interviewed at 1,288 workplaces, and in 2020, 108 companies were visited, reaching 2,281 individuals at 611 workplaces, despite Covid. Since the beginning of the monitoring, thousands of companies have been visited and tens of thousands of employees on the general labor market have been spoken with. From the above, it can be seen that inspectors go widely and reach a large number of wage earners.
Experience in recent years indicates that cases of various types of wage theft are on the rise, and inspections have also revealed that various other practices occur in the labor market that were previously unknown or, at best, had only vague indications.
Statistical information is currently being extracted from the monitoring system's registry, and significant work has also been done to standardize the monitoring nationwide and strengthen communication with public institutions. A valuable database has been created from which various statistical information can be derived, which will both increase our knowledge of the labor market and will be useful in negotiations with employers when sitting down at the bargaining table.
Báran has special supervisory representatives on staff who work in close cooperation with the supervisory representatives of other unions and federations within the labor movement.
We encourage everyone to read about their rights on https://labour.is/