Visita has signed a new collective agreement with the hotel and restaurant union. The agreement means that the risk of conflict has disappeared and that the increase in costs is in line with the rest of the labour market. A collective agreement is an agreement between two parties on the working conditions applicable to workers in a particular company or sector. In Denmark, neither Danish nor foreign companies are legally required to respect or enter into a collective agreement. As a foreign company, you should expect Danish trade unions to contact you to reach an agreement for workers posted to Denmark. You can negotiate a collective agreement with the union yourself or join a employers` organization that can negotiate on your behalf with the union. By Jakob Esmann The Swedish restaurant and hotel workers` union HRF has signed a new collective agreement with the employers` organisation Visita. It expires in March 2017. The agreement provides for a salary increase of SEK 500 per month for each full-time employee. In addition, 15,000 seasonal workers will put more money in their pockets with the new agreement.
“I am very pleased that we have been able to raise wages to a level that is appropriate for all members of this sector, whether they are cooks in operallar`s exclusive restaurant or grilling at McDonald`s,” Malin Ackholt, HRF`s Chief Officer Negotiation, told trade union magazine Hotellrevyn. The rules of the labour dispute are not enshrined in legislation, but are based on a complete case law of the Danish Labour Tribunal. In Denmark, workers have wide rights to actions of struggle and solidarity. Solidarity measures are put in place to support an existing dispute. The labour dispute is only legal if the work that the union is trying to regulate through an agreement is within the scope of the union. However, it is not necessary for the union to have members working for the company concerned. – The hotel and restaurant sector is in an extremely difficult situation, and for us it was important to create stable conditions in the long term while preserving flexibility. That`s what we`re doing with this agreement, says Granev-rn. That`s why it`s important to work in a workplace with collective agreements! One of the fundamental principles in Denmark is that trade unions have the right to enter into collective agreements with employers and employers` organisations.
Unions can take different types of collective action to reach an agreement with an employer. You can also see it as a foreign employer with people who have been deployed to Denmark. The collective agreement guarantees you a fixed salary, a contractual pension, a parental allowance, overtime pay, influence and much more. Learn more about the main Danish labour market organisations, which can provide information on the content of collective agreements, including key issues such as wages. “The negotiations have been until this evening and it is very gratifying that we have now managed to avoid the risk of conflict, while the agreement is at the same level as the rising brand of costs,” Visita chief negotiator Torbjarn Granev-rn said in a press release. Trade union action for a collective agreement is conditional on the union being first submitted to the foreign employer through the provisions of the existing collective agreements on which their claims are based. The collective agreements concerned must apply at the federal level and have been concluded between the most representative workers` organisations and employers` organizations. In Denmark, there are many examples of trade unions taking union action to reach a collective agreement. This includes Danish and foreign employers. Compared to foreign employers, the right to trade union action in the construction industry has been particularly important.