Jørgensen, Carsten

In early February 2012, the Financial Services’ Union (FF [1]) and the Union of Insurance Employees (DFL [2]) signed new collective agreements with the Danish Employers’ Association for the Financial Sector (FA [3]). The agreements run for two years and set wage increases of 1% from 1 July 2012 and a further 1% from 1 July 2013. [1] http://www.finansforbundet.dk/ [2] http://www.dfl.dk/ [3] http://www.fanet.dk/

On 4 January, the social partners in the manufacturing industry, the Central Organisation of Industrial Employees (CO-industri [1]) and the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI [2]), began the negotiations that mark the start of the renewal of collective agreements in the private sector. [1] http://www.co-industri.dk [2] http://www.di.dk

Two years of unsuccessful negotiations about a renewal of the collective agreement between the multinational IT-company CSC [1] and the IT-trade union PROSA [2] ended in June 2011 when the Labour Court ruled against the union, saying that CSC was entitled to release itself from the agreement with PROSA. After the ruling, CSC signed a new agreement with another IT-union, HK. This agreement was much less favourable to the programmers and system consultants at CSC. PROSA consequently lost its bargaining rights and employee representatives for their 700 members at CSC. [1] http://www.csc.com/careersus/fre/16005 [2] http://www.prosa.dk/in-english/national-and-global/

The social partners in manufacturing, the Central Organisation of Industrial Employees (CO-industri [1]) and the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI [2]), established an Equal Pay Tribunal with effect from 1 June 2011. It is modelled on the same lines as the Dismissals Tribunal [3] and the social partners, in collaboration with the Labour Court, have appointed a Supreme Court judge as chair and two other Supreme Court judges as stand-ins. The tribunal deals with matters of interpretation and understanding of the Equal Pay Act [4], violation of the Equal Pay Act, and the incorporation of the law’s provisions in both the overall Industry Agreement and the Industry Agreement for Salaried Employees between CO-industri and DI. Cases of gender-based unequal pay have been dealt with so far by the civil courts but, with the creation of this tribunal, will now go through the labour law system and be governed by its collective bargaining principles. [1] http://www.co-industri.dk/DA/Pages/Default.aspx [2] http://di.dk/english/Pages/English.aspx [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/efemiredictionary/dismissals-tribunal [4] http://legislationline.org/documents/action/popup/id/6519

There was some speculation whether the collective negotiations in the public sector in Denmark would produce a ‘minimum agreement’, where very little is changed, or a ‘welfare agreement’, which introduces new issues, as happened during the 2010 negotiations with the introduction of severance pay in the private sector (*DK1101029I* [1]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/industrial-relations-working-conditions-undefined/economic-crisis-weighs-on-2011-wage-bargaining-round

The report /Women and men in the labour market 2010/ (Kvinder og mænd på arbejdsmarkedet 2010 (1.93Mb PDF) [1]) issued by the Ministry of Employment (Beskæftigelsesministeriet [2]) in December 2010 reveals that the pay gap in Denmark between men and women has been more or less unchanged during most of the last two decades. However, there are now more women in higher education than men and men take more paternity leave. The report is the latest in an annual analysis by the Ministry of Employment about the conditions of women and men in the labour market. [1] http://bm.dk/sitetools/~/media/BEM/Files/Dokumenter/Publikationer/2010/Kvinder og maend på arbejdsmarkedet 2010.ashx [2] http://www.bm.dk/

Unions and employers in the public sector met at the bargaining table at the beginning of 2011 to renew collective agreements made in 2008. The repercussions of the economic crisis makes this a unique bargaining situation, and in reality there are only two strategic possibilities for a compromise settlement in the public sector at state, regional and municipality level.

Strikes and lockouts in 2009 in Denmark showed the lowest number of working days lost since Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik [1]) introduced the current calculation method in 1996. Unlike 2007 and 2008, collective bargaining [2] did not take place in 2009. [1] http://www.dst.dk/HomeUK.aspx [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/collective-bargaining

When the impact of the financial and economic crisis hit Denmark in autumn 2008 many Danish companies in manufacturing and construction had already started restructuring [1], either through internal reorganisation or by moving production offshore to low-wage countries. The crisis was unexpected by most companies and when it began to intensify over the winter of 2008–2009, many had no option but to use work-sharing as means of dealing with the crisis, since they had already dismissed those members of staff who were not required. Rather than either closing down production or laying off staff, work-sharing was seen as preferable because retaining staff in this way would make it easier for companies to return to growth after the crisis (*DK0903021I* [2]). [1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/restructuring [2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/economic-crisis-leads-to-extensive-use-of-work-sharing

The study (in Danish, 1.4Mb PDF) [1] published by the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO [2]), focused on membership of trade unions as well as of unemployment funds, the reasons behind these trends and the consequences for the collective bargaining [3] system. [1] http://www.lo.dk/kontakt/Bestilpublikationer/LOdokumentation/~/media/Publikationer/Publikations%20filer/LOdokumentation/2106_LOdok_1_2010DenFaglOranisering.ashx [2] http://www.lo.dk [3] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/collective-bargaining