Reykjavik refugee service staff may keep their jobs
Tuesday 10th November 2026 on 16:01 in
Iceland
Most of the staff in Reykjavik City’s international team who had been given notice may continue working on refugee reception after the city’s welfare council approved a one-year extension of its agreement with the state, mbl.is reported. The renewed agreement would cover fewer people than the current one.
Twenty-two employees in the team received notice as part of Reykjavik’s cost-cutting measures. They are still serving their notice periods, according to Ragnhildur Alda María Vilhjálmsdóttir, a city councillor for the Independence Party and chair of the welfare council.
She said the state had initially decided not to renew its service agreement with the city, prompting the dismissals. The state later reconsidered and sought a new agreement, she said. Funding for the work depends entirely on state contributions, leaving the city with little control over the project beyond carrying out the state’s plans.
The proposal would extend the agreement on coordinated refugee reception through the end of 2027 and cover services for 1,500 people, down from 1,800 under the current agreement.
According to the proposal, 1,363 people were receiving coordinated services from Reykjavik on October 4, including 257 children. Since the beginning of 2021, the city has provided services to 5,510 people under the arrangement.
Representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement welcomed the prospect that most of the team’s previously dismissed staff could continue working. They said the employees’ knowledge and experience were important to service quality and continuity of support for refugees.
The proposal passed by six votes to one and was sent to the city council. Kristín Kolbrún Waage Kolbeinsdóttir, the Centre Party representative, opposed the extension, saying Reykjavik had already reached its capacity for receiving refugees. The party called for further analysis of the agreement’s financial effects on social services, housing, schools and city administration.