Union warns against threat to paid breaks
The FOA public services union has criticised employers for suggesting that paid breaks should be cut. A survey of the union’s members in hospitals and elder care found a half reporting that their breaks were regularly disrupted with a fifth working through most of their breaks. The union says it would create chaos if paid breaks were cut and that staff would not be available to deal with problems during breaks if unpaid. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Trade unions call for action on equal pay
The FOA public services union has joined up with several other trade unions to call for government action to close the gender pay gap. The organisations, along with the Women’s Council, have put forward a range of measures including more paternity leave and changes to the Equal Pay Act. The unions argue that segregation of the labour market is one of the key issues and that it should be possible to compare work of equal value across sectors. They are also calling for more transparency in wage data from employers. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Union survey reveals staffing problems in childcare
A survey commissioned by the FOA public services union found that over a fifth of childcare workers said they often didn’t have enough to comfort children who are upset. The survey also showed that 41% (up from 35% in 2010) of childcare workers thought that at least once a day there were unable to provide proper care to children who are upset or those with disruptive behaviour. The FOA was pleased that the government had pledged an extra DKr 500 million (€67 million) for staffing in the sector although it wasn’t convinced that this was enough to provide adequate levels of staffing for the whole sector. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Union welcomes initiative on home care
The FOA has welcomed the setting up of a commission to examine home care provision. The union argues strongly that the quality and dignity of care need to be at the centre of the commission’s considerations. Above all FOA will be urging the commission to take full account of the contribution of thousands of health and social care professionals to the quality of home care and shift the focus away from the obsession with cutting costs that has been the primary approach of many municipalities in recent years.
Union criticises municipalities for low level of full-time jobs
The FOA public services union has revealed that only 4% of jobs advertised in health and social care were on the basis of a full-time 37-hour week. The issue of part-time work was raised in the last negotiations and unions want the employers to commit to providing a minimum proportion of full-time jobs. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Union concern over childcare quality
The FOA public service union has supported the initiative of childminders and workers in childcare centres to write to the education minister to call for an end to privatisation. There is mounting evidence of a trend towards more private care and the union argues that this fails to guarantee the quality standards required in municipally provided childcare. This is in terms of the training of staff, the quality of the environment in which children are looked after and the quality of the education being provided. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Welcome for legal change on sickness while on holiday
The FOA public services union has congratulated the government on changing working time legislation to ensure that workers who fall ill while on paid leave are entitled to take more paid leave to cover this period of sickness. This should have been implemented as long ago as 2004 but the law only applied when workers fell ill before the paid leave started. The union criticised previous governments for failing to deal with the issue to the detriment of thousands of workers. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Union challenges government on impact of job cuts
The FOA public services union has highlighted the findings of a recent opinion poll in which 84% of people said that the level of employment was important in delivering public services. The union says this challenges the claims of both the present and previous governments that the level and quality of public services can be maintained despite the fact there are 25,000 fewer public sector workers in post than a year ago. FOA says that this is also putting pressure on the smaller number of workers who continue to provide key services such as child and eldercare and the risk that the situation will deteriorate as a large proportion of public sector workers come up for retirement. Read more at > FOA (DK)
Pay increase for state workers adjusted in line with private sector
State employees will see their pay increase by 1.3% on 1 April rather than the 1.7% forecast as part of the two-year agreement negotiated last year. This is part of the public sector pay mechanism that makes adjustments to keep pay in the state sector in line with developments in the private sector. Pay increases in the private sector turned out lower than anticipated. Read more at > OAO (DK)
Union challenges bonus scheme to reduce sickness absence
The FOA public services union is critical of an initiative to reduce sickness absence by the Billund local authority in the Southern Denmark region. The council is paying an attendance bonus and it may be taken up by other municipalities. FOA argues that if sickness absence seems to high then there this raises questions about management responses and understanding the causes. The union makes the point that it people should not be forced to go to work if they are ill, particularly when they are working with the young, the sick and the elderly who would be more vulnerable to any contagious illnesses. Read more at > FOA (DK)
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