Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0110/01108.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 34KB | 756 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01108}
$Pretitle{411}
$Title{Denmark
Industrial Relations in Denmark}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of Denmark, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Denmark, Washington DC}
$Subject{income
tax
denmark
danish
taxes
company
percent
companies
corporate
labor}
$Date{1990}
$Log{Table 8.*0110801.tab
Table 9.*0110802.tab
Table 10.*0110803.tab
Table 11.*0110804.tab
Table 12.*0110805.tab
Table 13.*0110806.tab
Table 14.*0110807.tab
}
Country:     Denmark
Book:        Selected Information on Doing Business in Denmark
Author:      Embassy of Denmark, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of Denmark, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Industrial Relations in Denmark

     Industrial relations in Denmark are highly organized with trade unions
and employers' associations representing the interests of their respective
constituencies in a constant dialogue based on mutual respect and
understanding. Industrial relations are managed through free negotiations
between the parties involved.

     Wages and working conditions are laid down in collective agreements
between the trade unions and the employers' associations. The agreements which
are usually concluded for biennial periods also cover areas such as working
hours, protection against unfair dismissal or dismissal without proper notice.
During the term of the contract, the two sides are under an obligation to
maintain peace and stability in the conduct of the work. As a consequence the
Danish industrial environment is almost strike free when collective labor
agreements are in force.

A. Labor and Management Organizations

1. Trade Unions

     More than 80% of all wage-earners, including virtually all blue collar
workers and government employees, are members of a trade union.

     Most trade unions are affiliated with the Danish Federation of Trade
Unions (LO). At present LO has 30 affiliated unions with 1.4 million members
organized in 1,371 local branches. The largest of these unions are the
following:

     - The National Union of General Workers (SID) with four chapters
covering manufacturing, construction, transport and agriculture; membership
320,000.

     - The National Shop and Office Workers Union (HK); membership 315,000.

     - The National Union of Metal Workers (including mechanics), membership
140,000.

     - The National Union of Municipal Workers; membership 120,000.

     - The National Union of Female Workers; membership 100,000.

Other important trade union federations are:

     - The Salaried Employees' and Civil Servants' Confederation (FTF);
membership 360,000.

     - The Confederation of Professional Associations (AC); membership
140,000.

2. Employer Associations

     The Danish Employers' Confederation (DA) is the central organization of
the private employers' associations and federations in industry, construction,
crafts, commerce, and transport. There are 150 employers' associations and 41
individual companies affiliated with DA, which in total comprises 25,000
member companies employing 600,000 people, of which 300,000 are blue collar
workers.

     The five biggest employers' associations are the following:

     - Danish Industries Employment Federation-formerly the Federation of
Danish Mechanical, Engineering and Metal-Working Industries (JERNET) and
Association of Employers of the General Danish Industries (Industrifagene);
membership 4,600 companies.

     - Danish Contractors' Association; membership 933 companies.

     - The Commercial and Office Employers' Association (BKA); membership
3,800 companies employing 72,000 people.

     - The Federation of Employers in Trade, Transport, and Services;
membership 1,400 companies.

B. Contract Agreements

1. Collective Bargaining

     The negotiations about the renewal of labor contracts which normally take
place every second year follow a fixed pattern and procedure. Usually, the
first step taken by the main labor management organizations is to decide
whether the negotiations shall follow a centralized or decentralized pattern.
In recent years the trend has been moving towards a more decentralized
decision-making process with the individual unions negotiating their special
claims (including wages) directly with their employers and the LO negotiating
the general claims (e.g., working hours, paid training, and such) with the DA.

     Negotiations must be completed within a certain time limit, but this
limit may be extended. If agreement on a new contract cannot be reached,
further negotiations take place between the two parties with the assistance of
an independent arbitrator. If an agreement is reached, the result is submitted
to the members for approval. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, a first
notice concerning industrial action may be served. Industrial action does take
place unless the arbitrator decides to use his power to postpone it.

     The arbitrator may enforce a maximum of two postponements, each covering
a period of 14 days. If an agreement is still not reached at the expiry of
these extension periods, industrial action is initiated.

     In recent years, the government has intervened directly in the collective
bargaining process on several occasions following breakdowns in negotiations
between the trade unions and the employers. On these occasions the government
has resorted to specific legislation, usually based on the mediation formula
proposed by the independent arbitrator.

2. New Technology

     With a view to facilitate the introduction of new technology into the
work place, the Danish Employers' Confederation and the Danish Federation of
Trade Unions signed a cooperation agreement in 1986 providing for prior
notification and consultation when the introduction of new technologies is
likely to affect the general structure of a company or an industry. This
agreement also calls for consultative committees in enterprises with 35 or
more employees. As a matter of general policy, the Danish labor movement
recognizes that the utilization and development of new technologies are vital
for the competitiveness of Danish goods, both at home and abroad, and
consequently of paramount importance for employment, the working environment
and job satisfaction.

3. Labor Disputes

     Disagreements concerning the interpretation of a labor agreement are
normally sorted out through negotiations between the parties directly involved
at the local level. If these negotiations prove unsuccessful, the parties may
request the assistance of mediators from their respective main organizations.
If these mediation efforts fail to produce a positive result, either party may
request that the case be referred to a conciliation committee consisting of
representatives of the main labor organizations. If the conciliation committee
fails to reconcile the parties, a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement is
made by the main organizations. Dismissal cases may be brought before a
special Dismissal Board, but the final recourse in all other cases is the
Labor Management Arbitration Board which consists of two representatives of
each side and an independent arbitrator who is either selected by the parties
or appointed by the Industrial Court. The decision reached by the Labor
Management Arbitration Board is final and binding for both parties.

     The procedure followed in cases of breach of labor agreements or breach
or interpretation of the main collective labor agreements is similar to the
one described above. In the first instance, attempts are made to solve the
problems through mediation at the local level. If mediation fails, the case is
referred to the conciliation committee and from there to negotiations between
the main labor and management organizations. The last instance of appeal is
the Industrial Court which is a judiciary body established in accordance with
the Industrial Court Act. The Industrial Court operates in the same manner as
a normal court, but deals exclusively with issues related to collective labor
agreements and its