Remunicipalisation, Working Time, Greece, Denmark

Following the article on Iceland, the latest in the series of articles on working time commissioned by EPSU from the Labour Research Department focuses on developments in the other Nordic countries. While several unions in Sweden have put shorter working time on the bargaining agenda (see also article on Sweden in this newsletter), there are only a few cases in social care where a shorter working week has been implemented. In Norway and Denmark the priority has been more to ensure that workers in health and care and other services have the right to full-time working although there are some

The 480,000 workers in municipalities and 140,000 workers in regional government are set to get pay increases of 4% from 1 April as a first instalment of the 6.51% (municipal) and 6.53% (regional) increases over the next two years. An additional 2% fund is available for unions to negotiate separately for different groups of workers and so the overall pay rise will be closer to 8.8% and with an expectation that the real increase overall will be 2.17%. There are also additional amounts for the lower paid. At the end of 2025 there will be further negotiations that will focus on the comparative

The HK Kommunal trade union reports that the City Council of Vesthimmerland in the north of Denmark is giving all administrative employees the opportunity to divide their 37-hour working week over four days. This follows similar initiatives in other municipalities, including Odsherred, Gentofte, Esbjerg, Solrød. The experiment will be evaluated in November when it may be extended to other categories of employee. The option is entirely voluntary and will be based on allocating 74 hours over two weeks. Unscheduled citizen inquiries will be closed on Fridays and, as far as possible, there will be

A new survey by the FOA trade union provides some insight into how increasing the number of part-time workers who work additional hours could help alleviate the major staff shortages currently affecting care for the elderly. The survey found that 36% of part-time employees in elderly care would work additional hours with a higher salary and that 14% just want more hours but are not given the opportunity to do so at their workplace. However, job satisfaction is also key along with the potential to develop professional skills. These are virtually impossible in the current climate as care workers

On 21 September the ADEDY civil service confederation organised national strike action in protest at labour law changes that were due to be discussed in parliament that day. The changes target the public sector and include relaxations in working time rules that could see civil servants working up to 13 hours a day/78 per week. The changes would mark the end of the five-day week, allow for highly precarious contracts as well as stricter rules on strikes.

The HK Kommunal trade union reports that there are now new initiatives or experiments around working time in one in five municipalities. From the focus on working time flexibility to testing of the four-day work, there is an increased willingness, particularly since the pandemic, to move away from the more fixed and traditional patterns of work. The union stresses that any such change or experiment needs to be negotiated at local level and within the framework of the national agreement. HK Kommunal says that employee concerns need to be addressed and full consideration taken of the potential

Trade unions across all sectors are backing protest action against the proposal by the government to abolish a longstanding public holiday – the great prayer day that falls on the first Friday after Easter. Over 50,000 people joined a protest in Copenhagen and over 450,000 have signed a petition against the abolition. Public service workers featured as speakers at the protest rally, underlining the importance for a day of rest for those facing heavy and stressful workloads. The trade unions are not only angry about the loss of the public holiday but also the fact that the government has put

A mid-term evaluation of a working time experiment in the Esbjerg municipality in South West Denmark reveals high levels of satisfaction among those compressing their hours into a four-day week according to union HK Kommunal. Some 90% of job centre employees who chose the 4-day week two years ago are very satisfied with the scheme. The experiment began in January 2021 and runs for another year with those switching to four days working 35 normal hours with two hours dedicated to improving competences. Workers remaining on the five-day week work 37 normal hours. A detailed evaluation was carried

The HK Kommunal local government union reports that negotiations are underway to make the four-day week permanent at the Odsherred municipality, north west of Copenhagen. An experimental scheme began in 2019 with the standard 37 hours worked on Monday to Thursday, leaving Fridays off. The view of staff is generally positive and the negotiations may involve the option for greater flexibility in terms of the weekly day off. Meanwhile, there are new developments in the global 4-day week campaign with the launch of pilot projects involving over 3300 workers in 70 companies in the UK. In contrast

Municipal unions are pushing for the right to full-time work across the sector to tackle what they see as excessive use of part-time contracts. The FOA trade union has calculated the financial implications of full-time (37 hours a week) work for different occupations working different hours. For example, a social and health care assistant, who today is 41 years old, can increase their lifetime income (including all allowances and pensions) by DKK 5.3 million (over €700,000) by working full-time instead of 25 hours. Even older workers would see a real difference with a 51-year-old cleaner able

A survey by the FOA trade union found that 18% of its members in eldercare who work part-time would like to work longer hours. The union says that if they were to do this this it would effectively mean an additional 2100 jobs in the sector. FOA figures show a very high level of part-time work in the sector but with variations across municipalities. It argues that municipalities like Aalborg where weekly working time is 32 hours on average have clearly begun to address the problem but across the country the average is only 27.5 hours and as low as 25 hours in some municipalities. The FOA

Local government union HK Kommunal has welcomed the decision by Solrød Municipality, south west of Copenhagen, to give their employees in administration the opportunity work a four-day week. Workers will have the choice whether they want to show up at the office, work from home or take a full day off. The only requirement is that they still have a working week of 37 hours. The municipality argues that it will help recruit and retain competent staff. The scheme starts from 1 September and will run over the next two years. The initiative follows that of the Odsherred Municipality, north west of

The ADEDY and GSEE public and private sector trade union confederations have continued their campaign to stop major changes to labour legislation. They are concerned that plans to deregulate the labour market will put the eight-hour day at risk and other measures will weaken the labour inspectorate. ADEDY reported high levels of support for its 24-hour strike on 16 June following earlier 24-hour action on 10 June. The GSEE followed up its 24-hour strike on 10 June with a four-hour action on the 16th.