The yearly statistics on work stoppages, which have been compiled by Statistics Denmark, reveal that 85,800 working days were lost due to strike action in 2006. This represents an increase of 67% in strike activity compared with 2005. Overall, the proportion of working days lost in the public sector is significantly higher than that in private industry sectors.
A total of 85,800 working days were lost due to industrial conflict in Denmark in 2006. Compared with 2005, the 2006 figures represent an increase in the number of working days lost due to work stoppages of 34,500 working days. Of the total amount of working days lost in 2006, the public sector alone accounts for 62,400 days.
These results emerged from the most recent annual statistics on industrial disputes, published by Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) on 31 May 2007. Denmark Statistics compiles the data on the basis of reports on industrial conflicts that have been established by the 25 larger public and private employers and employer organisations. The data include figures covering both lawful strikes and those in breach of collective agreements; however, the figures do not provide any information on the number of each type of industrial action.
It should be noted that signing a collective agreement in Denmark implies a period of industrial peace while the agreement is in force. As no significant agreements were signed in 2006, this indicates that most of the strike action in the same year took place during such an industrial peace period. Therefore, the findings also suggest that industrial action was mainly taken at company level and that work stoppages were not notified strikes according to the trade union rules (DK0606019I; DK0506101N; DK0406101N; DK0303102F).
According to the findings, the increase in working days lost due to strike action is unevenly distributed across the sectors of the economy. In the public sector, the state, regions and municipalities recorded an increase of 316% in the number of working days lost between 2005 and 2006, which corresponds to a rise from 15,000 to 62,400 working days lost in 2006. This significant increase of working days lost in the public sector is thus the main reason for the overall rise in days lost in 2006. Almost all of the manufacturing sectors recorded a decline in the number of working days lost due to industrial action. The usually strike-prone food and beverages industry had 6,500 fewer working days lost in 2006 compared with 2005, while the iron and metal industry experienced a decrease of 5,700 fewer working days lost over the same period (Table 2).
The number of work stoppages in 2006 – at 476 – declined to the lowest figure since 1996 – 936 work stoppages at the time – when the existing statistical method for measuring days lost was first introduced. In 2005, some 534 work stoppages had been recorded, which represented then the lowest figure since 1996. Indeed, the difference in the amount of strike action between 2005 and 2006 accounts for 11% fewer work stoppages in 2006. As much as 79% of the work stoppages, which were the result of industrial conflicts, took place in the second half of 2006.
| Year | Number of work stoppages | Number of workers involved | Number of working days lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,081 | 75,656 | 124,800 |
| 2001 | 954 | 54,752 | 59,500 |
| 2002 | 1,349 | 110,854 | 193,600 |
| 2003 | 681 | 44,356 | 55,100 |
| 2004 | 804 | 75,710 | 76,400 |
| 2005 | 534 | 32,833 | 51,300 |
| 2006 | 476 | 79,128 | 85,800 |
Source: Statistics Denmark, ‘Work stoppages 2004’ (Statistiske Efterretninger, Arbejdsstandsninger 2004), 31 May 2007
| Sector of economy | Number of work stoppages | Number of workers involved | Number of working days lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | |||
| Iron and metals | 305 | 29,871 | 32,000 |
| Food and beverages | 274 | 28,066 | 30,700 |
| Transport | 137 | 8,155 | 8,600 |
| 2003 | |||
| Iron and metals | 133 | 14,986 | 14,000 |
| Food and beverages | 137 | 8,165 | 11,100 |
| Transport | 90 | 4,036 | 3,900 |
| 2004 | |||
| Food and beverages | 227 | 26,332 | 30,000 |
| Iron and metals | 135 | 20,923 | 16,700 |
| Transport | 121 | 11,524 | 8,600 |
| 2005 | |||
| Public sector at state, county and municipal levels | 31 | 3,060 | 15,000 |
| Iron and metals | 93 | 11,325 | 10,700 |
| Food and beverages | 52 | 4,143 | 8,600 |
| 2006 | |||
| Public sector at state, county and municipal levels | 77 | 58,780 | 62,400 |
| Transport | 59 | 4,246 | 5,700 |
| Iron and metals | 76 | 6,504 | 5,000 |
Source: Statistics Denmark, ‘Work Stoppages 2002–2005’ (Statistiske Efterretninger, Arbejdsstandsninger 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
According to the database on industrial conflicts of the Confederation of Danish Employers (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA), which only registers strikes in breach of a collective agreement in the sectors covered by DA, some 131 out of 380 work stoppages in 2006 were related to wage issues, resulting in a total of 10,997 working days lost. Nevertheless, the number of work stoppages on the grounds of wage issues that are in breach of an agreement in force has been steadily declining over the past years (Table 3).
| Wage conflicts | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of strikes | 280 | 266 | 242 | 164 | 131 |
| Number of working days lost | 21,091 | 17,059 | 22,817 | 14,076 | 10,997 |
Source: DA Konfliktstatistik, 4th quarter, 2006
In all, the 2006 figures on work stoppages confirm the trend towards fewer industrial conflicts in the Danish labour market; however, these figures include one or two strike actions that significantly impacted on the overall statistics of working days lost. In 2006, the strike mainly responsible for the major increase in working days lost compared with 2005 was a single event in the municipality sector. In the autumn of 2006, youth educators and kindergarten assistants in 75 larger municipalities took strike action for almost one month in protest against cost savings in childcare services. The conflict resulted in about 60,000 working days lost, which amounts to 70% of all working days lost due to industrial conflict and 97% of working days lost in the public sector at state, county and municipal level in 2006.
Three factors, in particular, have influenced the more moderate levels of strike activity in Denmark in 2006. First, the sectoral social partner organisations have agreed to react faster, in order to prevent possible conflicts arising in the workplace. Secondly, an important provision in the 2004 agreement covering the industry sectors (DK0403103F) determines that extra work, or overtime, which results from work stoppages during a period of industrial peace, will not be paid as overtime but as normal working time. Finally, the threat of production relocation to lower-cost countries, along with the risk of closure of Danish workplaces caused by economic globalisation, has restrained workers from resorting to strike action, other than as a last alternative.
Carsten Jørgensen, FAOS