Politics and Analysis
EU Directive on minimum wage will weaken the Danish model
4. November 2020
Press Release
The European Commission’s proposal for a minimum wage directive may mean that the Danish Parliament is forced to get involved in the way wages are negotiated in Denmark. The proposal will thereby severely weaken the Danish labour market model.
A new proposal for a minimum wage directive may mean that the Danish model will be seriously weakened. Although the Commission has attempted to design the directive so that it respects the Danish model, this has unfortunately failed. Both the Danish Trade Union Confederation and the Confederation of Danish Employers are very critical of the proposal that has been put forward.
“It is very serious that the Commission has put forward a proposal that interferes in the Danish labour market agreement model. We have an extremely efficient model in place which allows those who are closest to the labour market to negotiate wages and employment terms without political interfering. The proposal will open the door to political interfering, and I will – in partnership with the trade unions and the Danish government – do what I can to ensure that this proposal is not adopted in its current form,” says Jacob Holbraad.
“We have stated from the beginning – and this continues to be our position – that the EU must respect the exemption contained in the Treaty and refrain from adopting wage legislation. This is just the thin end of the wedge. We appreciate that the Commission has sought to address our concerns, but we do not feel reassured by what we are reading. We have suggested other methods to solve the problem of many people not being able to live on what they earn. This can be done without having EU legislation on wages in place. We will fight this tooth and nail,” says Lizette Risgaard, president of the Danish Trade Union Confederation.