On 11 June 1998, the General Workers' Union in Denmark (Dansk Specialarbejderforbund, SiD) decided to redraw 87,000 members from the country's second-largest trade union cartel - the Cartel of Employees in Trade, Transport and Service (Handel-, Transport- og Servicekartellet, HTS). The reason for the withdrawal is that SiD sees it as more beneficial to carry out the work which had been undertaken by HTS itself, so that its members will get more for their union dues.
In June 1998, the withdrawal of a large number of members from Denmark's second-largest trade union cartel threw into question the tasks and competencies of such cartels.
On 11 June 1998, the General Workers' Union in Denmark (Dansk Specialarbejderforbund, SiD) decided to redraw 87,000 members from the country's second-largest trade union cartel - the Cartel of Employees in Trade, Transport and Service (Handel-, Transport- og Servicekartellet, HTS). The reason for the withdrawal is that SiD sees it as more beneficial to carry out the work which had been undertaken by HTS itself, so that its members will get more for their union dues.
The decision led to talks on establishing a new services cartel, but no hasty decisions have been made. On 22 June, HTS decided that the best way to handle its future was to have a working group draft a proposal on its structure, tasks and competencies. After the withdrawal of the SiD members, HTS represents some 320.000 workers.
The troubled existence of HTS reflects difficulties which have followed the 1989 decision by the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO) to undertake a structural modernisation of the Danish trade union movement (DK9801148F). LO's 23 affiliated trade unions formed six sector-oriented cartels (covering: industry; building, construction and wood; trade, transport and services; graphical and media sector; municipal sector; and state sector). Since the cost of running the cartels has been transferred from LO to the individual affiliated unions and the powers and tasks granted to the cartels entirely are a matter for the affiliates, the various cartels have developed differently.
In order of current membership size, the six union cartels are:
the Danish Cartel of Municipal Employees (Det Kommunale Kartel, DKK) with 399, 000 members;
the Central Organisation of Industrial Employees in Denmark (Centralorganisationen af industriansatte, CO-industri), with 337,000 members.
HTS, with 320,000 members;
the Cartel of Building, Construction and Woodworkers' Unions (Bygge-,Anlæg- og Trækartellet, BAT), with 158,000 members;
the Association of Danish State Employee Organisations (Statsansattes Kartel, StK), with 108,000 members; and
the Danish Cartel of Unions in the Graphical Industry and Media Sector (Grafisk Industri- & Medie Kartel, GIMK), with 32,000 members.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1998), Trade union cartel faces unknown future, article.
