DENMARK: CO-industri, an affiliate of the IMF, has signed a new collective agreement with the Danish employers' confederation, Dansk Industri. During the life of the 4-year agreement, which must still be approved by ballot on both sides, wage levels will be determined, as is traditional in the Danish industrial relations system, through annual enterprise-level bargaining.
Some of the highlights of the agreement are:
- Paid holiday will be increased by 5 days, in two steps beginning May 2001, bringing the total to six weeks.
- Contributions to the pension scheme have been increased to 9% for workers and 8.1% for salaried employees, with two-thirds paid by the employer and one-third by the employee.
- For the first 14 weeks of maternity leave, pay will increase to Dkr 120/hour (US$15.66) from June 1, 2000, and to full pay from May 1, 2003. This concerns the employers' supplement over and above the public contribution of Dkr 2,055 ($268.23) per week.
- During sick leave, payment of full wages is being extended from 4 weeks to 5 weeks from May 1, 2000. This is also a supplementary payment over and above the public contribution of Dkr 2,055 per week.
- In connection with absence for a child's first day of illness, payment is increased to full pay from June 1, 2001.
- The minimum wage has gone up from Dkr 80.40 ($10.49) to Dkr 82.40 ($10.75) from March 1, 2000; to Dkr 84.40 ($11.02) on March 1, 2001; and to Dkr 86.40 ($11.28) on March 1, 2002. For 2003, a separate bargaining round will take place.
- Wage rates for apprentices will go up by 3%-4% per year from March 1, 2000 to 2002, with a separate bargaining round for 2003.