Denmark - Working conditions



In 1999, the Danish workforce numbered 2.89 million, while the unemployment rate was 5.7 percent. The labor force is shrinking in Denmark. This is partly due to the aging of the population, as more workers retire than enter the workforce each year. High income taxes combined with generous unemployment assistance also may dissuade many, especially young workers, from entering the work-force. The government is currently attempting to restructure its taxation system to change this picture, shifting the burden of taxation away from individual income.

The standard working week is 37 hours, with a minimum of 5 weeks mandatory vacation. Three-quarters of those in employment have a 5-day work week, while those out sick may be paid up to 90 percent of their wage (with a maximum of DKr2,556 per week).

Danish laws guarantee the right of workers to organize and all (except civil servants and essential service

Household Consumption in PPP Terms
Country All Food Clothing and footwear Fuel and power a Health care b Education b Transport & Communications Other
Denmark 16 6 11 3 17 5 43
United States 13 9 9 4 6 8 51
Germany 14 6 7 2 10 7 53
Norway 16 7 11 5 4 6 51
Data represent percentage of consumption in PPP terms.
a Excludes energy used for transport.
b Includes government and private expenditures.
SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000.

workers) have the right to strike, as well as the right to bargain collectively. The government stands behind these rights, does not interfere with unions, and prohibits anti-union discrimination by employers. More than 75 percent of all wage earners are organized in trade unions, as are about the same percentage of salaried employees, and collective bargaining is very common. Strikes are also rather common; in 1997, 101,700 workdays were lost due to labor conflict.

Mothers get extensive maternity leave—4 weeks prior to the birth of a child, and up to 24 weeks after— while fathers get paternity leave of 2 weeks after the birth. From the fifteenth week after the birth the mother can transfer all or a portion of her remaining maternity leave to the father. A tax-free benefit (known as the "children's check") is paid to the parents of all children 7 to 18 years old regardless of the household income. Denmark's child-care system enables either or both parents to work outside the home. In 1994, 80.3 percent of 3 to 6 year-olds were in childcare, (compared to 57.4 percent 10 years earlier). Women who used to be expected to care for their own children no longer face the same demand; in Denmark women's rate of participation in the workforce is very high—in 1995 89 percent that of men. In the same year women's salaries were 88.1 percent of men's.

Also read article about Denmark from Wikipedia

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