LO opts out of the 1987 joint statement and for a social contract
Ippubblikat: 27 May 1998
On 7 May 1998, after 10 days of major industrial conflict, the Danish Government chose to intervene in the stalled renegotiation process between the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO) and the Danish Employers' Confederation (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) over the 1998 bargaining round (DK9805168F [1]). Both parties were dissatisfied with the Government's intervention and imposition of a settlement by law, and as a protest LO has taken a radical step by withdrawing of the 1987 joint statement. In a press release on 15 May 1998, the president of LO, Hans Jensen, justified the decision by saying: "the trade union movement can no longer be co-responsible for the development in overall costs which the Government's intervention will entail, as LO has had no influence on the intervention."[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined-industrial-relations/parliament-intervenes-to-end-major-conflict
On 15 May 1998, Denmark's LO trade union confederation decided to withdraw from the 1987 joint statement on pay restraint as a reaction to the Government's earlier intervention in a major industrial dispute. LO restated its wish to conclude a "social contract" instead.
On 7 May 1998, after 10 days of major industrial conflict, the Danish Government chose to intervene in the stalled renegotiation process between the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO) and the Danish Employers' Confederation (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) over the 1998 bargaining round (DK9805168F). Both parties were dissatisfied with the Government's intervention and imposition of a settlement by law, and as a protest LO has taken a radical step by withdrawing of the 1987 joint statement. In a press release on 15 May 1998, the president of LO, Hans Jensen, justified the decision by saying: "the trade union movement can no longer be co-responsible for the development in overall costs which the Government's intervention will entail, as LO has had no influence on the intervention."
The 1987 joint statement was agreed upon between the three trade union confederations - LO, the Confederation of Salaried Employers and Civil Servants in Denmark (Funktionærernes og Tjenestemændenes Fællesråd, FTF) and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikernes Centralorganisation, AC) - and DA and the Danish Confederation of Employers' Associations in Agriculture (Sammenslutningen af Landbrugets Arbejdsgiverforeninger, SALA). The statement is an agreement to keep wage increases modest - ie lower than abroad - and to increase pension savings by starting occupational pension schemes. The trade unions in particular advocated tripartite talks on the economic situation and the implementation of an occupational pension reform.
On 19 May 1998, LO proposed to replace the joint statement with a broader "social contract" with employers and the government. According to LO, one element of the social contract should be an agreement on the development of occupational pensions. The government legislation which ended the industrial dispute on 8 May lowered the increase in occupational pension contributions set out in the previous mediation proposal, by 0.4 percentage points. Occupational pensions were introduced in the public sector in 1989 and in the private sector in 1991. Besides the issue of pensions, LO also proposed that the social contract should contain an agreement on overall economic development, employment and training policies.
The Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, reacted promptly by inviting LO and DA to tripartite talks on how to work out a framework agreement on the development of the occupational pension scheme. At a press conference on 19 May, the Prime Minister said: "The Minister of Labour and I are already preparing the first tripartite talks with the social partners on a range of topics, and the pensions matter will be an interesting issue." The topics which will be addressed at the tripartite talks are labour market reform, vocational training and the social responsibility of companies.
LO's proposal was less warmly received by DA, which agreed to participate in talks but not negotiations. The administrative director of DA, Jørn Neergaard Larsen, said: "We have learned from the conflict that if the government pulls in one direction and the trade unions pulls in another direction, the expectations among workers cannot be met." In the view of DA, time will have to be devoted to assessing the economic possibilities and clarifying welfare priorities.
The last tripartite meeting was held on 17 December 1997 (DK9712145N). Prior to these tripartite talks and 1998's collective bargaining, LO proposed the replacement of a the 1987 joint statement with a new and broader social contract. The proposed social contract would seek to commit the social partners to a wider set of overall policies in areas such as tax, vocational training and the labour market. DA responded by stating that there was no need to revise the existing joint statement. In a press release, the social partners stated that they were both willing to continue their talks after the completion of the 1998 collective bargaining round.
Il-Eurofound jirrakkomanda li din il-pubblikazzjoni tiġi kkwotata kif ġej.
Eurofound (1998), LO opts out of the 1987 joint statement and for a social contract, article.
