Three-year Danish deal invests in training



Danish unions in the CO-Industri bargaining group and private sector employers have reached a new agreement for 230,000 workers in industry. 



The settlement runs for three years from 1 March 2017 and it contains a significant boost to investment in training with the employers putting in an addition 200 million DKK (€27 million or £23 million) over the period. The intention is that this should be used particularly for workers with fewer skills.



The agreement also includes improved arrangements where a parent is called home because a child is sick, full pay for parental leave, which can last up to 52 weeks, and a new right for older workers to sacrifice some of their pay to take more time off.



The agreement does not fix pay increases, which are left for local negotiation. However, it does set minimum pay rates, which go up by 1.8% in 2017 and 1.7% in each of the following two years. Prices in Denmark are currently rising at 0.9% (January 2017).



Lizette Risgaard, the president of LO, the union confederation which represents manual workers, described the settlement as a “significant achievement, ensuring that individual employees have a skills upgrade, and providing forward-looking skills for the labour market”. 



She also welcomed the equality aspects of the new rules on parental leave and time off for sick children, saying it would improve a father’s ability to take a greater share of parental leave.