Gudmundur Gunnarsson, the father of pop star Bjork, has described 2B, an employment agency that recruits Polish workers for the Kárahnjúkar hydro-dam, as engaged in 'organised crime'.

This comes in response to reports by workers that a representative from 2B advised a site foreman to use beatings to punish any Poles who showed any resistance. He also allegedly called them 'drunks and thieves'. Gunnarsson was speaking in his capacity as leader of the Icelandic Electrician's Union. His remarks have been widely reported by the Icelandic media, and 2B have threatened to sue for libel. This is not the first time that the Kárahnjúkar hydro-dam has been linked to 'organised crime.' The Italian company Impregilio, which is responsible for construction of the dam, has faced charges of bribery in relation to its building of a dam in Lesotho . In addition, this month Impregilio won a contract to build a bridge from Sicily to the Italian mainland; a project that has been described by Green politicians as 'a trojan horse for the mafia'. The Kárahnjúkar dam, designed to power an aluminium smelter, has been opposed by environmentalists who say that it will destroy areas of valuable arctic highland.

For more information on environmental impacts of the dam, see www.savingiceland.org. For details of the Lesotho bribery scandal, see www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/item.shtml?x=52182

References
1 - www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/item.shtml?x=52182