LÍV Joins the ETF
05. June 2024LÍV Joins Forces With The ETF
The Commercial Federation of Iceland (LÍV) officially became a member of the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) today. The ETF is a federation of transport workers' trade unions within the EU, EEA, and countries in Central and Eastern Europe. With this membership, LÍV's member associations strengthen their collaboration with their sister organizations in the Nordic countries and Europe, thereby enhancing their advocacy for LÍV members working in the tourism sector. This increased focus reflects the growth of Icelandic tourism, which calls for robust union support for all workers in the industry in their fight for good jobs and better living conditions.
VR, the largest affiliated union in LÍV, emphasizes the importance of having strong representatives for tourism workers, as the largest tourism companies in the country are based within VR's geographical jurisdiction and tourism is growing and thriving nationwide. "Tourism workers have the inherent right to join unions and fight in solidarity for their demands for justice and decent living conditions. Unfortunately, we have examples of breaches of agreed rights, as specified in collective agreements, for workers in the tourism sector and the hard line reaction to the modest demands of airport handling staff during recent collective agreement negotiations has made us strengthen our advocacy in the tourism sector and to seek further cooperation both domestically and internationally," says Ragnar Þór Ingólfsson, chairman of LÍV and VR.
"International cooperation between LÍV and trade unions in the Nordic countries through NHK, as well as our membership in UNI Global Union, has been successful. Now, with an increasing number of our members working in tourism, we want to strengthen our presence in this sector. We find that our members working in tourism are very interested in benefiting from LÍV's efforts in their struggle. We work in good cooperation with trade unions within LÍV to ensure workers' rights and compliance with current collective agreements. LÍV believes that the best way to secure the rights of those working in tourism and transport is to seek collaboration, support, and expertise in our work on behalf of members with labor organizations in the Nordic countries and Europe."
About LÍV
Founded on June 2, 1957, LÍV is the largest association within ASÍ, comprising 10 trade unions and retail divisions nationwide with over 40,000 members. LÍV's purpose is to strengthen office and retail worker organizations, act as their advocate, and lead in matters of members' interests.
About ETF
ETF was established at a founding congress in Brussels on June 14-15, 1999, building on a 60-year history of transport workers' unions. Today, ETF represents over 5 million workers in more than 200 trade unions across 38 European countries. These workers are employed in all transport sectors, on land, sea, and air. They work in the following sectors:
Aviation
Fisheries
Inland waterways
Freight transport
Maritime transport
Ports and docks
Railways
Road haulage
Tourism
Urban public transport