Danish activities in relation with the action day on the 7 October
The danish unions chose to focus on the problem of unserious temporary agencies. They did this through articles (see attached below) in a number of regional newspapers where we warned enterprises in Danish manufacturing industry against employing workers through an unserious agency. Essentially the employers were reminded that in most cases it was their responsibility that the temporary agency workers got what the collective agreement proscribed and that the unions would raise the demand with them directly in cases of under-payment, lacking holiday-pay or other such problems.
On the 7 October the trade union president, Thorkild E. Jensen participated in a press conference called by IG-Metall Bezirk Küste in Hamburg. Part of the purpose of the press conference was to focus on the action day.
The other part of the press conference was to present an agreement on joint cross border job-service signed between IG-Metall Bezirk Küste and the Danish Metalworkers’ Union of which Thorkild is also president. The agreement means that employers in Denmark or Germany, who need qualified workers can go to the national union and that way recruit people with the right skills from across the border. This way the trade unions cut out the temporary agencies, ensure that the enterprises get the workforce they need and at the same time the members are offered an extended service.
For more secure employment, against precarious work
The EMF Collective Bargaining Policy Conference 2009 launched the 2nd Common Demand:
“For more secure employment, against precarious work”,
which will be included in the collective bargaining demands of all its 75 affiliated trade unions and in future collective bargaining rounds throughout Europe over the next four years.
