Voluntary work in Fragile communities

Abstract

Rural Iceland is popular among foreign volunteers, who perform a variety of jobs in exchange for food and housing. Those who recruit volunteers are accused of breaching collective agreements and wage theft when volunteers work in economic activities or on farms. The article aims to answer the question: Promote voluntary work done by foreign or domestic volunteers, localities that participated in the project “Fragile Communities” or do they take jobs from people who would want to live there if there were job opportunities? Data was collected in four areas included in the project “Fragile Communities”. During the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023, about 30 people were interviewed, and advertisements for volunteers were analysed. The interviewees agreed on respecting the labour market rules, independent of whether the volunteers were domestic or foreign. The context of voluntary work was seen as necessary and acceptable to disrespect principles of collective agreements, competition, and professional knowledge if it would benefit society. The idea of foreign volunteers taking paid jobs from local people was rejected. The interviewees agreed that voluntary work is vital to rural areas and a prerequisite for the communities.