A stranglehold on a lifeline of society

The dispute between Icelandair and its pilots has escaped no one's attention. It is not only about pilots' pay and conditions but a larger question: whether a small group should be able to hold a stranglehold on one of the most important lifelines of Icelandic society.

Iceland's lifeline to the outside world

The existence of a strong and reliable airline connecting Iceland to the outside world is a precondition for the country's residents enjoying a quality of life comparable to other Western countries. Without strong air connections, Iceland becomes more isolated, living standards decline and people's opportunities diminish. When the operations of a company like Icelandair are disrupted, it is therefore not a private matter for the company and its professions but a matter of national economic interest.

In recent weeks, Icelandair has had to cancel numerous flights due to crew shortages. The company has accused pilots of unlawful action, saying the problem stems in part from pilots suddenly ceasing to sell their days off. The chairman of the Icelandic Airline Pilots' Association has rejected this, saying the problem lies in Icelandair's staffing and flight schedule.

Whatever the explanation, it is clear that the system is unhealthy. A small professional group can have a decisive impact on the operations of a company on which the entire national economy depends.

A stranglehold held by a few

At the heart of the matter are so-called priority-hiring clauses. These are provisions in collective agreements that guarantee members of a particular trade union priority for jobs with a given employer or in a given field of work. In practice, they can mean that a company is not permitted to hire qualified people unless they belong to the union in question.

Such clauses create closed systems. Access to jobs is then determined not only by competence, experience and the company's needs, but also by membership of a particular union. This gives a small group an unnaturally strong position vis-à-vis a company that plays a key role in the Icelandic economy.

The legitimate rights of workers are one thing. A contractual stranglehold over jobs at a key company in the national economy is another. Trade unions should defend the interests of their members, but they should not be able to close off a labour market so that others have no realistic chance of employment unless they submit to the authority of a particular union.

Freedom of association and the Danish precedent

This is a fundamental question of freedom of association, a constitutionally protected right. If an individual must belong to a particular trade union to have a chance of a job, then freedom of association is not real. It is not enough to say that no one is formally forced to join a union if people are in practice excluded from jobs unless they do.

Denmark has already been through this debate. In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights concluded that provisions under which membership of a particular trade union was in practice a condition of hiring or continued employment violated Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

A bill introduced in Parliament on freedom of association in the labour market notes that priority-hiring clauses can be equated with compulsory membership or closed-shop provisions. It also notes that Denmark banned such clauses following the judgment, and that Iceland is among the few countries where they have been allowed to persist.

Parliament must act

It should not be Parliament's role to side with Icelandair against the pilots, or with the pilots against Icelandair, in a labour dispute. But it is Parliament's role to ensure that laws and collective agreements in Iceland are compatible with constitutionally protected freedom of association, healthy competition and the public interest. Parliament should pass legislation invalidating priority-hiring clauses in Icelandic collective agreements.

When a priority-hiring clause gives one group such a strong position that it can have a decisive impact on the operations of a company that forms part of the nation's infrastructure, the system is out of balance. At that point it is no longer about defending the legitimate rights of workers, but about creating an unhealthy situation that harms consumers, business and society as a whole. Iceland's lifeline to the outside world must not depend on the stranglehold of a handful of actors.

Björn Brynjúlfur Björnsson, CEO of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce

The article was first published on Vísir, 29 May 2026.

This article was automatically translated from the Icelandic original.