Jørgensen, Carsten

Under transitional arrangements agreed by the EU and new Member States in central and eastern Europe which will join in 1 May 2004, the existing Member States may limit movements of workers from the new Member States for a period of up to seven years after enlargement. On 2 December 2003, the Danish government secured support for a political agreement which will give workers from central and eastern Europe access to the Danish labour market from the first day of their EU membership - as will also be the case in countries such as the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden. However, in the Danish case this permission is subject to a number of special conditions (DK0310101N [1]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/transitional-arrangements-proposed-for-workers-from-central-and-eastern-europe

In mid-November 2003, all the trade unions represented in the 'Health Cartel' (Sundhedskartellet) in the municipal/county sector - with the exception of the social workers' union - decided to leave the Association of Local Government Employees' Organisations (Kommunale Tjenestemænd og Overenskomstansatte, KTO) at the expiry of present collective agreements in 2005. KTO represents unions in in the municipal/county sector (DK0111128F [1]), the largest bargaining unit in the public sector, and has hitherto negotiated agreements for about 650,000 employees. The decision of the Health Cartel unions to leave KTO will mean a break-up of this bargaining unit. [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-industrial-relations-quality-of-life-working-conditions/unions-and-employers-set-out-demands-for-public-sector-bargaining-round

In connection with the negotiations over the state Finance Act for 2004 - which started in late summer 2003 - the Minister for Employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, drew up an ambitious plan for changes in the rules on unemployment benefits. The stated aim was to prevent misuse of the rules on supplementary benefits and to adjust benefit entitlement for highly paid groups of workers.

The European Union'sEuropean employment strategy [1] (EES) has been in operation since 1997 (EU9711168F [2]). The strategy enables the coordination of national employment policies at EU level and one of its main components has been the adoption (on the basis of a proposal from theEuropean Commission) by theEuropean Council of a set of annual Employment Guidelines setting out common priorities for Member States' employment policies. The Member States then draw up annual National Action Plans (NAPs) which describe how these Guidelines are being put into practice nationally. [1] http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/employment_strategy/index_en.htm [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/employment-summit-agrees-limited-package-of-measures-to-combat-unemployment

At its 35th congress held on 26-31 October 2003, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions ( Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO) adopted - after a long debate on objectives and wording - a more active or 'offensive' policy in the field of European-level industrial relations, with a view to introducing an EU collective bargaining system. The policy was agreed following after delegates - representing LO's 19 member unions - toned down some of the more 'EU-friendly' formulations in the text proposed by the LO executive and changed some of the wording. The LO leadership expressed satisfaction with the decision in spite of the amendments to the original proposal.

The issue of works councils and similar workplace employee representation and participation structures is topical at present, with the EU Member States required to implement the recent Directive (2002/14/EC) [1] establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community (EU0204207F [2]) by March 2005 (though countries which currently have no 'general, permanent and statutory' system of information and consultation or employee representation may phase in the Directive's application to smaller firms up until 2008). The Directive applies to undertakings with at least 50 employees or establishments with at least 20 employees (the choice is left to the Member States). It provides employees with the following rights to information and consultation: [1] http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32002L0014&model=guichett [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/final-approval-given-to-consultation-directive

In September 2003, the Minister of Employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen of the Liberal Party (Venstre), presented a new proposal to parliament on the treatment in Denmark of workers from the new EU Member States in central and eastern Europe after 1 May 2004 when these countries join the Union. Under transitional arrangements agreed by the EU and these countries, the existing Member States may limit movements of workers from the new Member States for a period of up to seven years after enlargement.

On 21 August 2003, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsforeningen i Danmark, LO) and the Danish EmployersaeuroTM Confederation (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) published a joint analysis of male and female wages. The analysis (Kvinder og MA|nds LA¸n [1]) is the most comprehensive study yet conducted of the causes of gender-related wage gaps in Denmark. It quantifies a number of factors which have a decisive impact upon earnings and maps out the contribution of these different factors to the substantial differences between menaeuroTMs and womenaeuroTMs earnings. The factors examined are: work function; education/training; occupational sector; work experience; changes between jobs; leave periods; geographical location; and children. [1] http://www.da.dk/bilag/Kvinders og maend løn_2003_NY netversion.pdf

The EU Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (Directive 2000/78/EC [1]) was adopted in November 2000 (EU0102295F [2]). The Directive seeks to lay down a general framework for combating discrimination, as regards employment and occupation, on the grounds of: religion or belief; disability; age; and sexual orientation. It is to be implemented by the EU Member States by 2 December 2003 (with a possible later deadline for the provisions on age and disability discrimination, if Member States see this as necessary). [1] http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=32000L0078&model=guichett [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-social-policies/new-framework-equal-treatment-directive-examined

Temporary agency workers can no longer be employed at lower wages than paid to employees of the user company at the same workplace for the same work. This is the implication of an arbitration award issued on 1 September 2003 in a case involving the Union of Danish Electricians (Dansk El-Forbund) and Tekniq, the employers' organisation for heating and plumbing engineering and electrical installation, which found that temporary agency workers should work under the same contractual terms as apply to user company employees who perform the same work, including the same wages. The building workers' section of the General Workers’ Union in Denmark (Specialarbejderforbundet i Danmark, SiD) has described this award as a 'U-turn' in terms of the legal status of temporary agency workers.