Copenhagen childcare cuts withdrawn after long strike

Planned cut-backs in childcare provision in the municipality of Copenhagen led to a strike among childcare staff in September-October 2000. After more than three weeks of strike action, the municipal council withdrew a decision to reduce the opening hours of daycare institutions. The childcare workers' trade unions see the result of the protracted industrial dispute as a victory, in spite of the fact that the employees are facing sanctions for holding an unlawful strike.

In mid-September 2000, a majority of Social Democrat and Liberal politicians on the Copenhagen municipal council decided to introduce cut-backs in childcare facilities. According to the plan, the existing arrangement whereby the special daycare centres for schoolchildren open in the mornings would have been altered, and the centres were to be closed for three weeks during the summer period. The morning opening hours - used by parents who have to go to work before their children go to school - were to be ended at 71 out of about 100 daycare centres and concentrated at about 20 selected institutions. Furthermore, all the centres were to open one hour later in the afternoon. The consequences for some children would have been that they would have to attend three different institutions in the course of a day; one daycare centre in the morning, then school, and in the afternoon their "own" daycare centre.

Childcare workers strike

The consequences for the childcare workers at the daycare centres would have been less paid work and they immediately started an unlawful strike in protest against what they considered to be a serious deterioration of the children's and their own situation. Their trade unions, the Danish Federation of Early Childhood Teachers and Youth Educators (Børne- og Ungdomspædagogernes Landsforbund, BUPL) and the Union of Nursery and Childcare Assistants (Pædagogisk Medhjælper Forbund, PMF), also argued that these cuts were out of line with the general employment policy which aims to keep older workers on the labour market for longer. Weekly working time for the Copenhagen childcare workers would have been reduced to an average of 22.5 hours, leading to wage reductions which both the trade union leaders and the members found completely unacceptable and in conflict with existing agreements. The parents' cooperation association supported the childcare workers.

On 20 September, 800 childcare workers from about 100 daycare centres went on strike. The strike did not initially affect similar institutions for younger children such as kindergartens and nurseries. From the age of about nine years, children are transferred from kindergarten to daycare centres which are, in most cases, located at the same premises, but governed by different rules in relation to the age of the children. Special daycare centres are now almost only found in the municipality of Copenhagen, as most other Danish municipalities have introduced special childcare facilities at schools.

Conflict escalates and original plan abandoned

The strike lasted more than three weeks and spread to other institutions and youth clubs. It culminated on 12 October with 1,300 people on strike, including staff from some kindergartens who had taken sympathy action. Several other institutions were picketed by dissatisfied parents. Shortly before, the childcare workers had turned down a less radical proposal for cut-backs from the chief mayor, Kramer Mikkelsen (a Social Democrat). On 12 October, the plan to cut back on morning opening hours was to be adopted at a council meeting, but this did not happen. Instead, the Social Democratic group decided to propose a postponement of the decision about cut-backs in this field in response to the childcare workers' strong reaction and position. The Social Democratic Party - which is the largest party on Copenhagen council and holds several important posts - found support from left-wing parties for such a postponement, and the strike subsequently ended. Although a penalty will be imposed upon the strikers for participating in an unlawful strike, both unions - BUPL and PMF - unsurprisingly described the result as a victory.

Commentary

The childcare workers' strike was the largest in the field since the 1980s, when there were occasional protests against cut-backs. In the 1990s, there were so few disputes that it has been frequently argued in public debate that protest strikes and similar actions have more or less disappeared in the public sector. The recent strike emphasises that such disputes may always occur under the right circumstances. After many years of constant extensions and improvements, we have in recent years again seen cuts in public sector budgets and, in connection with the most recent budget negotiations in the municipal sector (which take place every October), protests have been voiced by both the public sector employees and the consumers of public services - though so far, to a limited extent.

According to the Danish rules on settlement of industrial disputes, it is not lawful to call strikes or take any other industrial action in connection with decisions about economic matters concerning the provision of services in the public sector. Industrial action may only be taken in connection with negotiations concerning the renewal of existing agreements concerning pay and working conditions. The public sector's finances are a matter to be decided by elected politicians and staff only have an indirect influence in the form of information in (works council-type) cooperation committees. Nevertheless, it has not been unusual for employees to conduct protest strikes, in contravention of the rules. This now seems to be happening again at a time when cut-backs are being made in public finances.

The Copenhagen strikers face wage deductions and severe penalties. Although the parents will be paid back the money for the days when their children could not attend the daycare facilities, millions of kroner have still been saved and could be used to meet the demands of the childcare workers. The fact that the strike ended as a victory for the staff is largely attributable to the fact that the childcare workers managed to form a strong alliance with the parents - an electorate which the politicians will always take seriously, especially at a time when there is only one year until the next municipal elections. On top of this, the budgetary negotiations for 2001 in the Copenhagen city council were very open and not - as in the preceding years - characterised by cooperation between the party of the Social Democratic chief mayor and the Centre and Liberal parties on the council. This is why the Social Democrats could cooperate with the left-wing parties on the council and thus steer clear of the commitments on cut-backs in the field of childcare which were part of previous budget agreements with the right-wing parties. If the political situation had been the same as in the preceding years, it is more than doubtful whether the demands of the staff would have been met.

This course of events demonstrates that a strike - especially in the public sector - is a double-edged sword and that the employees may only under very fortunate circumstances win such a clear victory as they did in this case. (Jørgen Steen Madsen, FAOS)