Denmark
Background information on industrial relations in Denmark
- 19 Dec 2001
Denmark: Social partners agree to complete implementation of EU working time Directive through subsidiary legislation<#PDF_LINK>In December 2001, the Danish social partners agreed to ensuring the full implementation of the 1993 EU working time Directive through subsidiary legislation. So far, the Directive has been implemented in Denmark by means of collective agreements and, according to the European Commission, this is not sufficient to ensure full and correct implementation, as about 15% of employees are not covered by a collective agreement. The European Commission had threatened to take Denmark to the European Court of Justice over the issue, but the social partners' decision has now averted this threat. The decision to use subsidiary legislation may reflect the creation of an 'alternative' Danish model of industrial relations.
- 05 Dec 2001
Denmark: Social responsibility of enterprises examined<#PDF_LINK>Danish companies are demonstrating increased social responsibility towards various groups of people who might otherwise have difficulties in finding a job. However, in some other areas the social responsibility of enterprises has been declining. These are among the main findings of an annual study published by the Danish National Institute of Social Research in November 2001.
- 29 Nov 2001
Denmark: Unions and employers set out demands for public sector bargaining round<#PDF_LINK>Spring 2002 will see the negotiation of new collective agreements in the Danish public sector and in November 2001 the parties set out their demands and positions. The trade unions' demands appear to be rathertraditional- notably increased real wages, linking of public sector wages to private sector pay developments, and morespecial holidays. The public employers are demanding more flexibility in working hours, a reduction of the part-time work scheme for older workers, and greater importance for decentralised negotiations.
- 19 Nov 2001
Denmark: New agreement signed on psychological working environment<#PDF_LINK>In October 2001, the Danish Working Environment Authority concluded an agreement with the DA employers' confederation and LO trade union confederation, amending an earlier administrative Order issued by the Ministry of Labour which authorises the Authority to intervene in areas relating to thepsychologicalworking environment, such as bullying and harassment. Under the new accord, local agreements may be concluded which provide that bullying and harassment are internal matters to be dealt with by employers and employees within companies, thus excluding the Working Environment Authority. The FTF white-collar union confederation would have preferred to keep the Authority as an impartial third party in this type of case.
- 19 Nov 2001
Denmark: Merger between childcare workers' unions abandoned<#PDF_LINK>In autumn 2001, members of the Danish Federation of Early Childhood Teachers and Youth Educators (BUPL) voted against a merger with the National Union of Nursery and Childcare Assistants (PML), despite recommendations in favour from the leaderships of the two trade unions. Skilled BUPL members did not want to be members of the same union as the unskilled members of PMF, and the merger has now been abandoned.
- 15 Nov 2001
Denmark: Lukewarm reception for government's new labour market initiative<#PDF_LINK>In October 2001, the Danish Minister of Labour launched a new proposal aimed at reorienting labour market policy. All parties sees this initiative asa step in the right direction, but none find it sufficient. It is seen more as a matter of adjustments to make some parts of the currentactivationsystem for unemployed people more flexible. The social partners are not enthusiastic.
- 17 Oct 2001
Denmark: Merger of electricians' and metalworkers' unions rejected by members<#PDF_LINK>After negotiations over the course of 2001, the executive committees of the Danish Union of Electricians (Dansk EL-Forbund) and the Danish Metalworkers' Union (Dansk Metal) decided to propose merging the two unions. However, in a ballot held in September members of the electricians' union voted to reject the proposal, much to the regret and surprise of the executive committees. In mid-October 2001, a proposed merger between childcare unions was also rejected by members.
- 10 Oct 2001
Denmark: Collective bargaining system is out of step<#PDF_LINK>Denmark is heading towards uncontrollable wage increases, due to the fact that the various collective bargaining rounds have been out of step since 1995. The four-year duration of the current agreements in the trend-setting bargaining area covered by the LO trade union confederation and DA employers' confederation - which was intended to provide a long period of peace with room for a steady development in costs - risks becoming the source of unrest, politicisation and a more rapid increase in wages. These are the finding of an analysis published in September 2001 by researchers at the University of Copenhagen.
- 11 Sep 2001
Denmark: New cooperation agreement signed in agriculture<#PDF_LINK>In August 2001, the LO trade union confederation and SALA employers' organisation signed a new cooperation agreement for the agriculture sector. The agreement aims to help prevent labour market exclusion, giving company-level cooperation committees a role in matters concerning the retention and integration of employees with a reduced working capacity. The new deal may be the first step towards a revision of the wider cooperation agreement between LO and the DA employers' confederation.
- 11 Sep 2001
Denmark: Union sues Intel over share options<#PDF_LINK>In August 2001, Denmark's largest trade union, the Union of Commercial and Clerical Employees (HK) decided to sue the information technology group Intel, seeking to have it established by the courts that it is not lawful for a company to deprive dismissed employees of share options. In July, Intel had closed its Danish operation and dismissed 200 employees, cancelling or restricting the share options held by some of the staff. The case involves important matters of principle related to the connection between share options and the ordinary pay of employees.
- 06 Sep 2001
Denmark: Professional staff work substantial additional hours<#PDF_LINK>Danish professional staff work many more hours than the standard 37-hour week. A study published in summer 2001 indicates that, for example, many engineers and information technology experts work 50 hours or more a week. In most cases, such overtime does not attract additional pay, and the phenomenon is widely seen as a newfashionabletrend. Working overtime has, it is claimed, become a newlifestyle, seen as a sign of responsibility, importance and prestige. The problem - for the employees as well as trade unions - is that voluntary extra working hours may undermine the pay and other employment conditions fixed by collective agreements.
- 28 Aug 2001
Denmark: DA and LO make joint proposal on labour market activation reform<#PDF_LINK>In summer 2001, Denmark's dominant central social partner organisations, the DA employers' confederation and LO trade union confederation, agreed a joint proposal which may set the agenda for a reform of the system of "activation" measures for unemployed people, announced earlier by the government. However, this initiative has met with opposition from the two other main trade union confederations, which have put forward their own proposals.
- 28 Jul 2001
Denmark: Danish Football Players' Union is a success<#PDF_LINK>Around 95% of Danish professional football players are members of the Football Players' Union. Despite the strong element of competition and obvious individual interests connected to this profession, the union is a success. This is the conclusion of a study, published in June 2001, of industrial relations in professional football. According to this analysis, the success of the union is due to its support for both the individual and collective needs of the players. Women professional players have recently been admitted to the union.
- 28 Jul 2001
Denmark: Proposed mergers will unite service sector employers<#PDF_LINK>In June 2001, four of the organisations representing employers in the Danish service sector tabled a proposal for a large-scale merger, bringing together organisations representing both employers' and business interests. The aim is to establish a single main organisation, ServiceErhvervene (SE), which unites member organisations under one umbrella, but which will, at the same time, be able to meet the very diverse needs of the members in a flexible way. The merger seeks to shift the power balance within the Danish Employers' Confederation (DA) away from industry, and to strengthen the political influence of the service sector. However, the fact that Danish Trade and Commerce (DHS) is not so far participating in the merger may be an obstacle to the ambition of creating a strong unitary organisation.
- 28 Jul 2001
Denmark: Dispute over regulation of health and safety at work<#PDF_LINK>The Danish government has recently proposed extending the competence of the Working Environment Authority to include the "psychosocial" working environment. Along with other recent political initiatives in the field of health and safety at work, this has been interpreted by the social partners as an attack on the Danish model of bargaining and cooperation. In July 2001, the Danish Employers' Confederation (DA) responded by proposing the abolition of the Working Environment Act and the introduction of a system based exclusively on agreements between the social partners. This proposal was flatly rejected by the ruling Social Democratic Party and also failed to obtain support from many trade unions.
- 28 Jun 2001
Denmark: Bill on wage data adopted<#PDF_LINK>In June 2001, the Danish parliament adopted a bill amending the Act on Equal Pay, with the aim of creating greater transparency in wage data and addressing the gender "pay gap" which persists after 25 years of equal pay legislation. Under the new legislation, employees, trade unions and the Equal Opportunities Board will have access to wage data in all enterprises with more than 10 employees.
- 28 Jun 2001
Denmark: Industry sector social partners reach agreement on psychological working environment<#PDF_LINK>In May 2001, Ove Hygum, the Danish Minister of Labour, announced that the Working Environment Authority would be given extended powers, enabling it to intervene at workplaces to prevent problems concerning the "psychological working environment", including sexual harassment and serious bullying. Employers described such a move as interference in their managerial prerogatives, while some trade unions perceived a conflict with the Danish "bargaining model", whereby problems are mainly resolved by the social partners themselves. Unions and employers in the trend-setting industry sector subsequently concluded a collective agreement providing that matters relating to the psychological working environment will be dealt with by the social partners themselves through the existing procedures for settling industrial disputes. Similar agreements may follow in other sectors.
- 28 Jun 2001
Denmark: EU part-time work Directive implemented through new dual method<#PDF_LINK>In the past, EU employment and social Directives have been implemented exclusively through collective agreements in Denmark. However, in June 2001, parliament adopted legislation transposing the Directive on part-time work, essentially extending the provisions of an agreement concluded by the LO trade union confederation and DA employers' confederation to those areas without their own agreements on the matter. This new "dual" implementation method - involving both law and bargaining - represents a break with tradition, and is not without problems. The other main social partner organisations on both the union and employer sides have complained to the Ministry of Labour that they had not been consulted.
- 28 May 2001
Denmark: Nordsten employees receive pay increases until plant closure<#PDF_LINK>Under a local agreement reached in spring 2001, employees at P Nordsten A/S, a Danish agricultural machinery manufacturer, will receive a substantial pay increase over the next two years, whereafter the plant will close and production will be transferred to Poland. This local agrement is very unusual, but at the same time an example of another ad hoc solution to company restructuring in Denmark.
- 28 May 2001
Denmark: Denmark has too many trade unions<#PDF_LINK>There are currently 169 trade unions in Denmark, of which one-third have fewer than 1,000 members. This is too many, according to a study published in April 2001, which claims that too much energy is thus expended on rivalry among the unions and internal power struggles, to the detriment of the members and of flexibility at the workplace. The report concludes that enterprises could increase productivity by at least 5% if mergers led to fewer unions, as work tasks could be organised in a more flexible way if demarcation lines were erased.
- 28 Apr 2001
Denmark: Meat workers approve new agreement at third attempt<#PDF_LINK>In April 2001, workers in Denmark's meat-processing factories approved a new collective agreement in a third ballot, following the rejection of two earlier proposals. The NNF trade union and the industry's employers had expressed their surprise at the earlier rejection, given that the second proposal contained major improvements on the initial draft. The final agreement provides for a total pay increase of 9.5% over a two-year period.
- 28 Apr 2001
Denmark: Government sets new employment targets<#PDF_LINK>The Danish government is seeking to speed up its efforts to increase the employment of excluded or at-risk groups in a new "inclusive" labour market. In a new publication issued in April 2001, the two ministers responsible for this area have called for changed attitudes on the part of all those involved so that good intentions are translated into concrete, practical work in local communities and companies. The social partners support this government initiative.
- 28 Mar 2001
Denmark: SiD members working substantial overtime<#PDF_LINK>Many members of Denmark's second-largest trade union, the General Workers' Union (SiD), are working on the borderline of the weekly hours limits set by the EU working time Directive, and a working week of 48 hours is not unusual among the members of the union's transport section. One in three SiD members works longer than the standard 37 hours per week fixed by collective agreement. These are among the findings of a study published in February 2001. The president of SiD finds these result alarming and in conflict with all working time agreements signed by the union.
- 28 Mar 2001
Denmark: Finance sector bargaining leads to higher wages and improved pensions<#PDF_LINK>The 2001 collective bargaining round in the Danish financial sector took place - as usual - in a peaceful atmosphere and in accordance with the timetable fixed for the negotiations. In February and March respectively, agreements were concluded for insurance and for banks/mortgage institutions. Both agreements provide for relatively high wage increases and improvements in occupational pensions. The finance sector did not follow the trend towards concluding four-year agreements set elsewhere in the private sector, as the new settlements were concluded for the usual two-year period.
- 28 Feb 2001
Denmark: Legislation proposed on age discrimination<#PDF_LINK>In early 2001, the Danish Minister of Labour announced proposals to prohibit age discrimination at work through legislation. This is the main change in Danish law required by the new EU equal treatment Directive, which bans discrimination on grounds of of religion, belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
- 28 Feb 2001
Denmark: Fathers fail to use full parental leave entitlement<#PDF_LINK>According to figures published in February 2001, Danish men prefer to work instead of taking the parenthood-related leave to which they are entitled (a potential total of 66 weeks). On average, male employees are absent from work for only about two weeks in the course of the first two years of their child's life. In comparison, women are on average absent from work for nearly 45 weeks in connection with pregnancy and maternity leave. The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) is calling for a change in attitudes among both enterprises and employees, and proposing improvements in men's possibilities for taking parental leave, including better financial compensation.
- 28 Jan 2001
Denmark: LO proposes life-long working time flexibility<#PDF_LINK>In January 2001, Denmark's LO trade union confederation proposed a life-long working time flexibility scheme, whereby employees could work longer hours in the earlier years of their working life and reduce their hours accordingly in later years (a similar scheme already exists in the state sector). This proposal is seen as an attempt to attract young people to join trade unions, as a recent LO study has shown that this group of workers is turning away from the unions. However, employers are uncertain about the proposal.
- 28 Jan 2001
Denmark: First agreements concluded in agricultural sector<#PDF_LINK>In early 2001, new collective agreements are being negotiated in Denmark's agriculture and forestry sector, which is not covered by the main private sector agreements concluded in 2000. The first agreement was signed in January for 6,000 workers in the "agrarian-industrial" sector. Alongside increases in pay and holiday entitlement, the four-year deal increases occupational pension contributions to 9.9% of pay, compared with the 9% agreed in most of the private sector in 2000. Shortly afterwards, similar agreements were concluded for horticulture and bakeries.