Efling says cleaners lacked ID cards at six Mosfellsbær schools

None of six cleaning workers at primary schools in Mosfellsbær had the workplace identification cards required by law, according to an inspection by Efling and professional associations. The findings were reported by mbl.is, citing an article by Efling chair Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir on Vísir.

The groups visited the six schools earlier this month after seeking cooperation with the municipality on workplace inspections. The request followed iClean taking over cleaning in municipal buildings at the end of last year.

At one school, they encountered a person who would not identify himself. Efling later learned from iClean that he was not employed by the company. He had an access card marked with the names of both the school and the company and appeared to have unrestricted access to the building, Jónsdóttir said.

Efling considers the findings evidence of illegal work and access to municipal buildings by unregistered individuals. The municipality’s contract with iClean requires cleaning staff to have clean criminal records, Jónsdóttir said, adding that it is difficult to ensure compliance when people who are not registered employees are working in municipal buildings.

In August, Efling representatives met with Mosfellsbær Mayor Hilmar Gunnarsson and the director of human resources and workplace environment. They asked the municipality to use provisions in its contract to request work descriptions for specific cleaning tasks and assess whether the collective agreement was being followed. Efling had not received a response to that request, Jónsdóttir said.

She said Efling notified the municipality of the alleged violations last week. The union then received an email saying an Efling employee would hear from the municipality’s lawyer, she wrote. Jónsdóttir also accused municipal representatives of showing indifference and arrogance in their dealings with the union, and said Mosfellsbær appeared opposed to ordinary scrutiny and transparency in its procurement.

The article did not include a response from Mosfellsbær.