Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 332, November 2003

Case No 2178 (Denmark) - Complaint date: 27-FEB-02 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 42. The Committee examined this case on the merits at its March 2003 session. This complaint concerns the adoption of a legislative amendment that altered the existing legal and contractual regime concerning part-time work in Denmark (which previously was mostly left to collective bargaining) and which prohibited the social partners from concluding collective agreements in the future restricting any worker’s preferences to work part time. The Committee invited the Government to resume thorough consultations on part-time work issues with all parties concerned, with a view to finding a negotiated solution that would be acceptable to all parties and in conformity with Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining, ratified by Denmark, and requested it to keep it informed of developments [see 330th Report, para. 586].
2. 43. In a communication of 8 September 2003, the Government states that the Minister of Employment has held a meeting with the Chairman of the Confederation of Danish Trade Unions, following which it was concluded that it would not be possible to achieve a negotiated solution mutually acceptable to all parties. Nevertheless, the Minister has stated, publicly and in Parliament, his willingness to pursue discussions with social partners, with the aim of reaching a solution that ensures that employers and employees who wish to do so have the right to enter into agreements on part-time work. The Government reiterates that the Act respects current collective agreements which contained restrictions to access to part-time work, until such agreements can be denounced: this provides social partners with the opportunity to create special part-time work procedures or schedules that reflect individual needs and local labour market conditions.
3. 44. The Committee notes this information. Recalling that, when making its recommendation, it had taken into account the wide social consensus that previously existed in this respect and which had led to negotiated agreements between the social partners, and had considered that such a unilateral policy reversal by the Government would only have been justified in a situation of acute crisis or emergency, the Committee requests the Government once again to pursue thorough consultations on part-time work issues with all parties concerned, with a view to finding a negotiated solution that would be acceptable to all parties and in conformity with Conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining ratified by Denmark.