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WORKING IN DENMARK

Denmark announces major spending plan to fight social dumping 

The Danish parliament has agreed a 1.3 billion kroner spending plan that is designed to tackle social dumping and other problem areas at workplaces.

Published: 31 March 2023 12:09 CEST
Denmark announces major spending plan to fight social dumping 
Danish politicians present a major spending plan to improve work environments, including measures against social dumping. Photo: Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The deal, termed a “working environment agreement” (arbejdsmiljøaftale), specifies social dumping as a major area of focus.

“This is an agreement of historic level. I am happy that everyone is part of it,” employment minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen said following the conclusion of negotiations on Thursday.

Social dumping is the practice by which foreign workers are used to circumvent Danish collective bargaining agreements, saving employers money by hiring staff on wages and working conditions inferior to those set by the Danish labour model.

READ ALSO: ‘One in two’ tax inspections found social dumping at Danish companies

Some 673 million kroner of the total 1.3 billion are earmarked for prevention of social dumping.

“This is an anti social dumping effort that acts against labour crime and cheating the system. So that people who actually play by the rules get fair competition,” Halsboe-Jørgensen said.

Other elements of the spending will aim to address industrial accidents and mental health at workplaces.

“Work should not make you sick. Neither physically or mentally.  That’s why we’re also proud that we’re tackling psychological working environments,” Socialist People’s Party (SF) representative Astrid Carøe said.

The money provided by the deal will be spent over a four-year period from 2024 until 2027.

The signatory parties describe it as a “historically large grant” to the agency Arbejdstilsynet, which is responsible for ensuring acceptable working environments.

Increased inspection frequencies, introduced in a prior 2019 agreement, continue under the new deal.

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WORKING IN DENMARK

Foreign workers in Denmark ‘create 300 billion kroner of value’

Almost one in eight people in paid employment in Denmark is a foreign national, meaning workers from abroad create a huge amount of value for the country, the Confederation of Danish Industry says in a new analysis.

Published: 29 April 2024 14:51 CEST
Foreign workers in Denmark 'create 300 billion kroner of value'

Increasing employment in Denmark in recent years is due in no small part to international labour, and the high rate of international employment, couple with a continued low unemployment rate, underline the need for workers from abroad, the Confederation of Danish Industry (Dansk Industri, DI) said in a press release on Monday.

An analysis from DI based on Statistics Denmark data found that, between 2013 and 2023, the number of foreign nationals working full-time in paid employment in Denmark increased from 147,000 to 309,000.

The 2023 level is equivalent to 13 percent of overall employment in Denmark being attributable to foreign labour, DI said.

“You cannot overestimate the importance of international labour in Denmark,” DI’s deputy director Steen Nielsen said in the statement.

“If they had not been here and made the contribution they do, we’d not have been able to produce goods, treat the sick or build the amount of houses we need,” he said.

“It is good business in every way because it means our labour market and business sector is functional, but also because international colleagues are worth billions to Denmark,” he said.

International labour created some 282 billion kroner of value within the Danish economy last year, according to DI’s analysis. That is reportedly a new record and equivalent to 11 percent of the country’s total value output.

“Employment has fallen and the economy would have done the same [shrunk, ed.] ifwe had not had our international colleagues. We owe them a big thenk you for their contributions to Denmark’s progress,” Nielsen said.

The DI deputy director said the analysis showed the continued importance of making Denmark attractive to foreign labour.

READ ALSO: Foreign workers report increased appeal of Denmark and Copenhagen in study

“The coming years will see fewer Danes of working ages. So to retain the affluence and welfare we have today, we must continue to gratefully receive international labour,” Nielsen said.

“A simple and effective measure would be to also allow foreigners from outside of the EU to come here if they have a job offer in line with collective bargaining agreements. That would make an immediate difference,” Nielsen said with reference to the salary and other labour standards set by Denmark’s collective bargaining system.

The business representative underlined that such workers should not be allowed to stay in Denmark if their work circumstances ceased.

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