Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.07.2019, Side 12

Reykjavík city councilperson and
municipal chair of the Centre Party
Vigdís Hauksdóttir has been accused
of bullying her Chief of Staff, Helga
Björg Ragnarsdóttir, after the latter
was herself accused of bullying a staff
member, who subsequently sued the
city last year.
Helga Björg’s complaint revolved
around Vigdís’s behavior in a public
discussion where the councillor repeat-
edly misstated her staffer had bullied a
former employee.
This has led to an official complaint
to the anti-bullying team, who have
required that Vigdís participate in a
formal procedure in investigating Helga
Björg’s allegations. This is the first time
an official has tried to force an elected
official into this kind of investigation.
But unsurprisingly, Vigdís has refused
to participate, stating that there are no
legal grounds for it. And she has a point.
“ This is the
city hall inquisi-
tion,“ she wrote on
her Facebook page,
adding that Helga
Björg could go to
court if she wants
to settle the issue.
Circus
animals
To understand the
ridiculousness of
this complaint,
though, it’s neces-
sary to travel back
to last summer, when, shortly after
the municipal elections, newspapers
in Iceland reported on the severance
pay of a City staff member. Reports
stated that he was given 250,000 ISK
in compensation for being unlawfully
reprimanded by Helga Björg.
Additionally, the city—and there-
fore the taxpayers—fronted the bill for
the subsequent trial surrounding the
reprimand, which amounted to over
one million ISK.
The trial’s condemnation of Helga
Björg was unusually harsh. The docu-
ments stated that the chief of staff’s
conduct was condescending and that
she treated her staff member like an “...
animal in a circus that should stand and
sit as she pleased.” But it was clear that
she did not bully the staff member—
only that the reprimand was unlawful.
A culture of bullying
In consequence, the Centre Party and
members of the Independence Party
officially complained at a City board
meeting that they had serious concerns
about the behaviour described in the
verdict of the district court. They
claimed that it
was thus necessary
to evaluate Helga
B j ö r g ’s f u t u r e
within City Hall.
The People’s Party
and the Socialist
Party subsequently
lodged a complaint
that there was
actually an over-
whelming culture
of bullying allowed
in the workplace.
Vigdís, in particu-
l a r, re p e a t e d l y
highlighted this
belief in public discussions.
The Chief Administrative Officer of
City Hall, Stefán Eiríksson, disputed
these claims. The court’s verdict was not
about bullying, he emphasised, but was
actually about administrative actions
and the legality of them. Though this
City Councillor
Accused Of Bullying:
“This Is War”
Controversial councillor Vigdís Hauksdóttir faces accusations of bullying
Words: Valur Grettisson Photos: Art Bicnick
Vigdís Hauksdóttir is on the warpath.
12 The Reykjavík Grapevine
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