Ragnar Þór Ingólfsson, the president of VR, and Elva Hrönn Hjartardóttir, an expert in the field of VR development, are both seeking the presidency of the union, which is the largest in the country with around 40,000 members. .
The contestants met in Silfrin on RÚV this morning and it’s safe to say they hit it off in the TV room.
The road trip under the direction of Ragnar Þór was not thought out
Elva Hrönn said the reason she volunteered was that she did not like the club’s run under Ragnar Þór. She said her reign had started well, but in the past year the labor movement has been characterized by infighting that has diverted energy and attention from big issues, such as the housing issue,
In his opinion, the fact that the labor movement did not come together in recent collective bargaining meant that the bargaining position was not as strong vis-à-vis the government and the employers.
Important issues not addressed due to disputes
The candidates scoured the field extensively, but agreed that housing issues were the big issue causing imbalance in society.
Elva Hränn wanted to say that VR reacted too late to this problem and said that the reason was that too much energy had been invested in the aforementioned conflict within the trade union movement.
Ragnar dismissed it completely and said work on the matter had gone on throughout his six-year reign. In addition to other questions, he mentioned VR’s involvement in Blæ öväfätfélag, which is a new housing association under the umbrella of ASÍ and BSRB. Ragnar said this work took four years and the case was held hostage for 14 months in ASÍ.
“It’s not right, Ragnar”, said Elva Hrönn, and meant that the delay was Ragnar Þór’s responsibility and that he delayed the submission of the required documents so that the case could be completed.
“You are just making a complete misrepresentation. You were not involved in this communication,” Ragnar said, saying the responsibility lies with the government.
Elva Hränn then asked why people should believe her words over others. She was in contact with Ragnar Þór’s adversary who claimed it. “I want you to tell the truth, Ragnar, to our members and to those who come to vote for us,” said Elva Hrönn.
Ragnar then reiterated that his rival contestant was using moisture-free masks and demanded that she reveal where she got that information from. That’s why Elva Hränn dodged.
Said not to be affected by the latest contracts
Ragnar Þór agreed that the conflicts within the movement had been intense in the run-up to collective agreements, but he said that the work and meetings within ASÍ over the past seasons had given him optimism that the movement would be united for the next collective agreements. He then completely dismissed the fact that he was left paralyzed after the VR board approved labor agreements he didn’t want to accept.
It was noticed that Ragnar Þór did not want to be photographed with the representatives of the Confederation of Trade Unions after signing the signature.
“It just shows the passion I have for this job,” Ragnar Þór said when asked.
Elva Hrönn Hjartardóttir Ragnar Þór Ingólfsson
