Salary increases and a third day off for sick children: details of the new agreement for half a million municipal employees in Denmark
According to TV2, the Danish municipalities organization KL Kommunernes Landsforening announced a new agreement covering approximately 500,000 municipal employees, following a press conference where both parties presented the full details of the three-year agreement.
What is the actual salary increase?
KL Kommunernes Landsforening chief negotiator Sofie Osmani confirmed during the press conference that employees will receive a 6.27 percent pay increase over three years.
She explained that this increase is part of an overall economic framework of 9.2 percent. The Ritzau agency noted that this framework is higher than the agreement covering state employees, which amounted to 8.7 percent.
This simply means that the salary will increase gradually over the next three years, not all at once, and that the 6.27 percent represents the overall direct increase in salaries.
500 million kroner for local distribution
Sofie Osmani also announced the allocation of 500 million Danish kroner to be distributed locally within municipalities. These funds will be used to address specific needs in each municipality, such as improving conditions for certain groups or addressing particular disparities.
650 million kronor to address staff shortages
The agreement allocated 650 million Danish kroner to address labor shortages in certain sectors.
Sophie Osmani said that the shortage of manpower is one of the biggest challenges facing municipalities today, explaining that some places suffer from a shortage of social and health personnel, and other places suffer from a shortage of teachers, educators or physical therapists.
Of this amount, 300 million kroner goes to areas experiencing significant recruitment difficulties, while a similar amount is allocated to increase the salaries of administrative leaders.
The child is on the third day of illness... what does it mean?
KL Kommunernes Landsforening confirmed that the agreement gives employees the possibility of taking leave on the third day of a child's illness.
However, the organization clarified that this is not an automatic right, but rather a possibility that depends on workplace conditions; that is, it must be applicable in the institution concerned.
According to TV2, the agreement also gives employees what is known as a ”flexible account” that allows them to choose how to use part of the increase, whether by converting it into an additional salary, a pension, or vacation days.
Comparison with the State Employees Agreement
TV2 quoted Ritzau as saying that the new agreement goes beyond, in terms of economic framework, the agreement reached in February for state employees, which amounted to 8.7 percent.
The civil servants' agreement also included a flexible pay system, which has now been adopted for municipal employees.
Welcome from the unions
Social workers' union leader Benny Andersen said members would get a real pay increase, adding that this was the most important thing in any collective bargaining.
HK Kommunal President Lene Roed also welcomed the agreement, stressing that the introduction of the flexible account is an important achievement, as it was a demand that the union had worked on during several rounds of negotiations.
Gordon Ørskov Madsen, president of the Danish Teachers' Union (Danmarks Lærerforening), expressed his satisfaction with the increase, noting that employees would receive a tangible raise, in addition to doubling the number of days they could stay at home with a sick child.
With this agreement, approximately half a million municipal employees are now awaiting the completion of the final ratification procedures, after which the increases and improvements will begin to be implemented according to the timetable set for the next three years.
