Sensitive or controversial issues

• Author: Guomundsdottir, Guorun D.
• Pages: 61-65

61

11 SENSITIVE OR CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES

11.1 Potential breaches of the directives at the national level

There have been no obvious breaches with regard to the transposition, implementation

and practical application of the directives as such, as Iceland is not legally obliged to

transpose them under the EEA Agreement, and the ‘transposing’ Equality Acts only entered

into force in September 2018 However, explicit provisions prohibiting discrimination by

assumption and association are lacking, as are provisions on the dissemination of

information and dialogue with NGOs and between social partners. Another issue is that

there is no explicit prohibition of discrimination in social advantages as formulated in the

Racial Equality Directive. This may be an oversight, as the explanatory notes to the bill

explain what social advantages are within the meaning of the legislation, so one may

assume that that the general anti-discrimination provision in Article 1, stipulating that the

Act applies to discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin in all spheres of life

except the labour market in relation to the Labour Equality Act, applies to social

advantages. Furthermore, the provision on the exception relating to nationality may be too

broad, although this requires judicial interpretation. Finally, there is no explicit provision

mandating the Centre for Equality with providing independent assistance to victims in

pursuing their complaints of discrimination, as set out in Article 13 of the Racial Equality

Directive. It is also worth mentioning that the legislation does not provide for an exception

for employers with an ethos based on religion or belief.

11.2 Other issues of concern

As the Equality Acts only entered into force on 1 September 2018, the Courts have yet to

apply them, and issues of concern with regard to their implementation and practical

application remain to be seen. However, the Centre for Equality could clearly be

strengthened through a more generous budget allocation and staffing for the necessary

human resources and structures to be in place to meet increased demands stemming from

the new Equality Acts. Allowing the Centre to provide legal assistance and to represent

victims or organisations in court would also clearly strengthen equality protection in

Iceland.

The proportion of first-generation and second-generation immigrants among the

population in Iceland has never been higher than in 2019, at 15.6 %. According to

Statistics Iceland, immigrants have relatively good access to the Icelandic labour market,

they are members of trade unions and have similar health and safety environments in their

workplaces as Icelanders. However, they face challenges in education, are overqualified

for their jobs, live as tenants in overcrowded housing and are poorer than Icelandic

citizens.84 A recent study carried out by the Icelandic Confederation of Labour

demonstrates that the Icelandic labour market is firmly divided. While most workers do

not suffer any breaches of their rights, foreign, young and low-wage workers suffer

violations, and they are underpaid by amounts running into hundreds of millions of krónur

every year. More than half of all wage and violation claims were made on behalf of foreign

workers, even though they constitute only 19 % of the workforce and only 25 % of the

membership of the four unions surveyed. About half of all claims originate in the hotel,

restaurant and tourism sectors. The largest claims stem from the construction industry.85

The number of children of immigrant origin has increased steadily from 2004, in both

kindergartens and compulsory education. In 2019, 13.7 % (compared with 3.8 % in 1998)

84 Statistics Iceland (2019), Social indicators: Special issue on immigrants, Statistical Series, 31 January 2019,

p. 1.

85 The Icelandic Confederation of Labour (2019), Íslenskur vinnumarkaður 2019, Erlent launafólk og

brotastarfsemi á vinnumarkaði (The Icelandic Labour Market 2019, Foreign workers and violations in the

labour market).