Denmark
Background information on industrial relations in Denmark
- 07 Dec 2004
Denmark: Pilot projects on more flexible working time assessed<#PDF_LINK>The 1999 collective agreement for Denmark's municipal sector allowed for the decentralisation of bargaining concerning working time. Many municipalities have since initiated pilot projects involving new forms of working time organisation, a number of which were assessed in 2004. Experience with the new models has been mixed
- 02 Dec 2004
Denmark: Social partners welcome Danish political agreement on EU Constitutional Treaty<#PDF_LINK>In November 2004, the Danish government and three opposition parties concluded an agreement on the EU Constitutional Treaty, which will be put to a referendum in Denmark. The agreement states that Denmark will retain a veto on EU matters with vital significance for its welfare state, notably labour market issues, social affairs and tax policy, and any move to be qualified-majority Council voting in these areas can be vetoed by all five signatory political parties. The LO trade union confederation and DA employers' confederation strongly support this national compromise. However, some critical voices claim that qualified-majority EU voting on such issues would represent an advantage for the Danish agreement-based model of labour market regulation.
- 10 Nov 2004
Denmark: Nordic trade union formed at Nordea<#PDF_LINK>Nordea, the Nordic financial services company, intends to be one of the first multinationals to make use of the European Company Statute, which came into force in October 2004. With Nordea thus planning to operate at overall European level, four trade unions organising its employees in the Nordic countries have formed a single transnational Nordea trade union organisation in response.
- 28 Oct 2004
Denmark: Employees 'support free choice' in collective agreements<#PDF_LINK>Research unveiled in autumn 2004 indicates that majority of Danish employees want to have a higher degree of freedom of choice within the framework set by collective agreements. This would involve individuals choosing how to use a specific proportion of the total agreed paybill, for example for higher wages, higher pension contributions or more time off. Such schemes already exist under a number of collective agreements.
- 28 Oct 2004
Denmark: Tripartite committee to examine training and lifelong learning<#PDF_LINK>In autumn 2004, the Danish government and social partners set up a committee which, over the next 12 months, will undertake a thorough review of current provision in the field of adult and continuing vocational training. In August, the Prime Minister had invited the social partners to talks about how to upgrade the competences of Danish workers in order to deal with the effects of globalisation.
- 05 Oct 2004
Denmark: New union holds first congress<#PDF_LINK>In September 2004, a merger between the General Workers’ Union (SiD) and the National Union of Female Workers (KAD) became a reality when the new organisation, known as 3F, held its inaugural congress. The new union has 375,000 members and is Denmark's largest.
- 05 Oct 2004
Denmark: Finance employers propose making pension contributions optional for under-35s<#PDF_LINK>In September 2003, the employers’ association in Denmark's financial sector, FA, called for an end to compulsory employees' occupational pension contributions for workers under 35 years of age. Occupational pension contributions are regulated by the finance sector's collective agreement, which is to be renegotiated in early 2005. Trade unions and other large employers’ associations are not enthusiastic over FA's proposal.
- 27 Sep 2004
Denmark: 'New wage' system will be difficult issue in regional/municipal bargaining<#PDF_LINK>In autumn 2004, trade unions and employers in Denmark's regional and municipal authorities sector are preparing to negotiate new collective agreements. A decentralised pay scheme introduced in 1998, known as new wage, is likely to be a source of major difficulties in the bargaining. Some major unions are demanding the abolition of the system, while employers want to extend it and earmark a larger part of the overall wage sum for local distribution through the scheme.
- 24 Sep 2004
Denmark: Arbitration settles dispute over 'missed time'<#PDF_LINK>In September 2004, a Danish industrial arbitration tribunal ruled in a dispute over a provision in a new collective agreement concluded in the industry sector in spring 2004. The agreement provides that, after an unlawful strike, employees can be compelled to do additional work on up to 14 days in order to make up for the company's lost production - without receiving an overtime rate of pay. The tribunal found that such 'missed time' working should be considered as overtime work and not as ordinary working time. Except for premium rates of overtime pay, all other provisions connected with overtime laid down in the collective agreement (eg on notice periods) apply to such cases.
- 07 Sep 2004
Denmark: Study examines why union members do not vote in ballots<#PDF_LINK>In April 2004, only 37% of members of the trade unions affiliated to the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) voted in a ballot on whether or not to accept an overall compromise settlement to conclude 2004's various sectoral collective bargaining rounds across the private sector. A survey carried out for LO in summer 2004 found that main reasons given by members for not voting were that they forgot or were uninterested. The researchers suggest that many of the abstainers may be persuaded to vote in future by means such as better information or follow-up measures.
- 02 Sep 2004
Denmark: Thematic feature - industrial relations and undeclared work<#PDF_LINK>This article gives a brief overview of the industrial relations aspects of undeclared work in Denmark, as of June 2004. It looks at: the nature and extent of undeclared work; the regulatory framework; the role, activities and views of the social partners; and partnerships between social partners and public authorities to tackle undeclared work.
- 26 Aug 2004
Denmark: Footballers go on strike<#PDF_LINK>Danish professional football players launched their first ever strike on 17 August 2004. This followed the breakdown of negotiations over the renewal of the collective agreement between the players' union, SPF, and the clubs' association, DF, despite the efforts of the Public Conciliation Service. The central point in the dispute is the interpretation of a FIFA rule which gives clubs the right to demand compensation for training and developing young players if these players are transferred to foreign clubs after the expiry of their contracts.
- 13 Aug 2004
Denmark: New campaign launched against undeclared work<#PDF_LINK>In July 2004, the Danish government launched a new campaign against undeclared work and tax fraud, the second such initiative in the space of a year. It introduces new measures to combat undeclared work, building on the experience of the first campaign, and has been broadly welcomed by the social partners. The Danish Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises is proposing additional measures, including criminalisation of the users of undeclared work and a lower VAT rate on services.
- 07 Jul 2004
Denmark: Footballers' union joins LO<#PDF_LINK>In June 2004, the Danish Football Players' Association became a member union of the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions (LO). The context is a conflict between the union and football clubs over FIFA transfer rules. On 1 July, the union gave notice of a strike from 1 August, in which it will now receive support from LO.
- 28 Jun 2004
Denmark: Two major unskilled workers' unions agree merger<#PDF_LINK>In May/June 2004, the members of the General Workers’ Union (SiD) and the National Union of Female Workers (KAD) voted on a merger proposed by the leaderships of the two trade unions. The result was overwhelmingly in favour and the turn-out was higher than expected. A major new union for unskilled workers will thus be created, though the merger will also mean an end to one of the world’s few unions for women workers only.
- 22 Jun 2004
Denmark: Thematic feature - individual labour/employment disputes and the courts<#PDF_LINK>This article examines how individual labour/employment disputes are handled through the courts in Denmark, as at March 2004.
- 08 Jun 2004
Denmark: Industrial action falls sharply in 2003<#PDF_LINK>According to figures published by Statistics Denmark in April 2004, the number of working days lost due to industrial action in 2003 was down over three-quarters on the 2002 figure.
- 03 Jun 2004
Denmark: Private sector settlement approved in ballot<#PDF_LINK>During April 2004, the members of the trade unions affiliated to the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) voted on whether or not to accept an overall compromise settlement to conclude 2004's various sectoral collective bargaining rounds across the private sector. The members approved the deal by 57% to 43%. However, the turn-out was only 37%, and in some unions there were significantly more nothan yesvotes. Union leaders are thus concerned about a democratic deficitthat may have a negative impact on the legitimacy of collective agreements in the longer term.
- 17 May 2004
Denmark: 2003 Annual Review for Denmark<#PDF_LINK>This record reviews 2003's main developments in industrial relations in Denmark.
- 11 May 2004
Denmark: Social partners criticise plans to decentralise measures for unemployed<#PDF_LINK>In April 2004, the Danish government proposed, as part of a wider administrative reform, that responsibility for measures to get unemployed people back into work should be devolved to municipal authorities. The proposal has been heavily criticised by the social partners.
- 27 Apr 2004
Denmark: Controversy over rules for workers from new EU Member States<#PDF_LINK>In December 2003, the Danish parliament approved measures aimed at preventing illegal work and possible misuse of the Danish welfare system when workers from central and eastern Europe seek jobs in Denmark following EU enlargement on 1 May 2004. However, trade unions in the building and construction industry claimed in April 2004 that loopholes in the new provisions will enable them to be evaded, and for workers from the new Member States to be employed on wages below collectively agreed rates.
- 07 Apr 2004
Denmark: SAS staff accept wage cuts<#PDF_LINK>By late March 2004, agreements providing for wage cuts and in many cases longer hours had been reached for all groups of employees at the Danish operations of the SAS airline. The negotiations were held under the threat of redundancies as the troubled company seeks to cut costs.
- 31 Mar 2004
Denmark: Overall compromise reached in private sector bargaining<#PDF_LINK>In March 2004, collective bargaining in Denmark's main private sector bargaining area was concluded when the central organisations, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Danish Employers’ Confederation (DA), signed a three-year overall compromise settlement drawn up by the Public Conciliation Service, which largely follows the lines of an agreement reached in the industry sector in February. The issues of centralised arrangements for employer-financed additional maternity/paternity leave and benefits, and of whether work done to catch up with production lost due to unlawful strikes should attract overtime pay, continued to cause problems up to the last minute. The former issue brought the bargaining parties and politicians close to entering one another's spheres of influence, a development which may have major consequences for the Danish bargaining model.
- 09 Mar 2004
Denmark: EU consultation Directive incorporated in DA-LO cooperation agreement<#PDF_LINK>In February 2004, the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions (LO) and Danish Employers' Confederation (DA) agreed to incorporate the 2002 EU information and consultation Directive into their existing cooperation agreement. The main effect is that company-level cooperation committees must in future consult all staff groups and not only those covered by a DA-LO collective agreement.
- 02 Mar 2004
Denmark: New collective agreements concluded in industry<#PDF_LINK>In February 2004, new three-year collective agreements were concluded for the Danish industry sector. The deal provides mainly for improvements in areas such as occupational pensions, paid parental leave and sick pay, plus minimum wage increases, with pay bargaining largely left to company level. The parties have also agreed to a greater degree of decentralisation in bargaining and further individualisationof working time arrangements. The agreements include a clause allowing negotiations to be reopened if there is new legislation on issues such as paid parental leave which increases employers' costs.
- 01 Mar 2004
Denmark: LO union and Christian employers negotiate collective agreement<#PDF_LINK>In January 2004, it was announced that the Trade Union of Public Employees (FOA), an affiliate of Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), is negotiating with the Association of Christian Employers (KA) over a collective agreement covering the latter's members providing private care services for elderly people. This is an unprecedented move for an LO member union. One of the conditions for an agreement stipulated by KA is that both sides should renounce the right to take industrial action. This has brought heavy criticism of FOA from other LO unions, which regard the right to take industrial action as one of the cornerstones of the Danish collective bargaining model.
- 10 Feb 2004
Denmark: Restructuring results in major redundancies in Northern Jutland<#PDF_LINK>Within the space of a week in January 2004, three large companies in Denmark's Northern Jutland region announced plant closures or restructuring, with 1,300 employees to be made redundant as a result. The job losses will have a significant impact on employment in the region and leave the labour market authorities and other parties involved with a major problem in finding new jobs or retraining for the redundant workers.
- 10 Feb 2004
Denmark: SAS call centre employees accept wage cuts<#PDF_LINK>In order to secure their jobs, about 200 employees at the SAS airline's call centre in Denmark accepted a 10% cut in their basic pay in January 2004. The alternative was a relocation of the call centre to the Baltic countries. Trade union representatives and other parties have called the wage cut part of a vicious spiral.
- 30 Jan 2004
Denmark: Football lock-out prevented<#PDF_LINK>In January 2004, the Danish Professional Football Arbitration Court ruled that the Danish League Association had not given sufficient notice that it was suspending its collective agreement with the Danish Football Players' Union. This ruling prevented a lock-out of players which had been due to start on 22 January, in a dispute over new transfer rules. After the verdict, and following a proposal for a compromise from FIFA, it appears likely that the parties will conclude a new collective agreement for professional football in the coming months.
- 28 Jan 2004
Denmark: Thematic feature - redundancies and redundancy costs<#PDF_LINK>This article examines the procedures and costs involved in collective redundancies in Denmark, as well as current trends and debate in this area, as at November 2003.