On the basis of a document released in August 1998 (DK9809177F [1]), which set out possible adjustments to present Danish labour market policy, tripartite talks began on 17 September 1998 and an agreement - entitled a "joint conclusions paper" (fælles konklusionspapir [2]) - was reached by the
In order to resolve the deadlock in the industrial conflict which gripped Denmark's private sector in the spring of 1998, the Government intervened. As a result, Parliament passed an act introducing an additional day of annual leave for all workers and an additional two days per year of childminding
In the Danish industrial sector, it is traditional for plants to close completely for three weeks in the summer, with all employees taking their paid holiday at the same time. This practice is slowly being replaced by various flexible arrangements - a trend confirmed by a recent report published in
As a consequence of the high level of unemployment at the beginning of the decade and the record low unemployment rate at the end of it, Danish labour market policy has been adjusted several times during the 1990s, first in 1994 and later in 1996.
At its congress held on 6-15 September 1998, Denmark's second largest trade union, the General Workers' Union in Denmark (Specialarbejderforbundet i Danmark, SiD), which has 333,000 members, voiced its demands in the run-up to the next round of collective bargaining in early 1999.
According to a survey from HK-Municipal, the municipal section of the Union of Commercial and Clerical Employees in Denmark (HK-Kommunal, Handels- og Kontorfunktionæernes Forbund, HK), more than one in two clerical employees has problems with stress, and one in 10 feels "burned out". Interestingly
Denmark's early retirement scheme is becoming increasingly popular. In 1997, 30,300 people took early retirement, bringing the overall total at the end of 1997 to some 136,000 - seven out of 10 of the population aged 60-67 years. With a 7% yearly increase, the number of people on early retirement
Following a formal complaint from two Danish independent trade unions - Christian Trade Union (Den Kristelige Fagforening, DKF) andFirma-Funktionærernes Fagforening- and as a part of a wider analysis of EU social policy conducted by the European Commission, Denmark may be called upon to amend its
In April 1998, for the first time in 42 years, workers refused to support in a ballot a joint mediation proposal to settle the bargaining round which was recommended by their trade unions (DK9805168F [1]). According to opinion polls, the reason given by seven out of 10 workers for their rejection of
On 16 June 1998, the Danish Employers' Confederation (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) ended its one-year boycott and decided to re-enter the national health and safety system. The boycott had come as a reaction to the new and amended Work Environment Act adopted on 30 May 1997, which employers