SVTH – Federation of Trade & Services
About SVTH
Federation of Trade & Services
SVTH – Federation of Trade & Services (Icelandic: SVÞ) is a countrywide federation of companies in commerce and services in Iceland. This includes private retailers and the consumer co-operative sector. The Federation also comprises the oil companies with approximately 200 service stations, the entire goods transport sector: The merchant fleet, trucking companies (a transport section within the federation deals with transport issues), the entire pharmacist sector with over 50 stores, IT- companies incl. telecommunication and postal services and various service companies incl. e.g. Securitas with over 600 employees.
SVTH is the second largest member of the Confederation of Icelandic Employers (Icelandic: SA). The potential for SVTH is considerable. There are now more than 1.600 registered companies in the sectors covered by SVTH with employees exceeding 40 thousand totally. The actual SVTH membership consists of some 400-500 companies.
Trade and services is the immediate communication to the more than 300 thousand consumers in Iceland as well as the 300 thousand tourists that visit the island each year. Over 21 thousand employees work in retail and wholesale trade and over 90 thousand in services, thereof 45 thousand in public services. The contribution of trade to GMP each year is 12% and services 55%, thereof public services 36%.
The main areas of operation are the following:
Information to members: On the SVTH website and through publications and meetings.
Education: Courses and vocational training projects are organized upon requests and needs of the member companies. SVTH organizes various seminars and conferences in conjunction with other organizations, schools, institutions etc.
Lobbyism: Monitoring and commenting on laws and regulations affecting SVTH’s members and commerce and services in general at various levels of Parliament and within the Government administration. The labor market salary negotiations in cooperation with SA who leads this work.
International cooperation: Through membership in EuroCommerce, UNICE, FIRAE, IRU and cooperation with Nordic sister organizations to affect policymaking relating to trade and services. SVTH was established in October 1999 by merging several organizations in trade and services.
- Phone Number: +354 511-3000
- Fax Number: +354 511-3001
- Email Address: svth@svth.is