There have been several unsuccessful attempts at trade union mergers in Denmark in recent years (DK0111102N [1] and DK0110101N [2]), highlighting the difficulty of changing trade union structures. Commentators have pointed out obstacles such as trade union officials who fear losing their job and
Collective bargaining in the early months of 2004 over new collective agreements in the trend-setting private sector bargaining area covered by the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO) and the Danish Employers' Confederation (Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, DA) - to
European countries are facing growing problems with their future pension burden. All over Europe, the growth in the share of the population made up by elderly people and a falling labour force are creating economic problems which – over a short span of years - threaten to undermine the welfare
The slogan and main theme of an extraordinary congress [1] of the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO) held on 8 February 2003 was a 'New LO' (Nyt LO). This seemed to set the scene for important innovations and changes as regards the confederation’s external image
Negotiations during the first months of 2003 about the renewal of the collective agreements in the slaughterhouses and meat processing sector (DK0301105F [1]) and the finance sector have led to a breakthrough in the introduction of greater 'individual options' within the collective framework of the
A report [1] on the Danish economy published by the presidency of the Economic Council (Økonomisk Råd) in autumn 2002 includes a special analysis of the Danish model of industrial relations - ie the special tradition of labour market regulation in the form of collective agreements between the social
On 27 January 2002, after a shorter than usual period of negotiations (DK0111128F [1]), the Minister of Finance and the joint trade union bargaining body, the Danish Central Federation of State Employees' Organisations (Centralorganisationernes Fællesudvalg, CFU), concluded bargaining over a new
Through a series of labour market reforms (DK9810187F [1]), Denmark has successfully introduced an active labour market policy. However, there are limits to this policy's success, as demonstrated by a number of studies which show that not all types of "activation" measure for unemployed people are
On 15 May 2001, the Minister of Labour, Ove Hygum, announced that a new order would be issued, extending the powers of the Working Environment Authority (Arbejdstilsynet) in cases concerning the "psychological working environment". The Authority would be authorised to intervene in cases of sexual
It has been discussed for more than a decade whether it would be possible to make the rules laid down in the Holiday Act (ferielov) less restrictive so that it would, for instance, be possible to transfer annual leave from one holiday year to the next. Such a change has not been possible until now