Last Week in Denmark (26.02 - 05.03) Episode 8 Year 3
One less free day; New collective agreements; Higher education reform
Danish Politics HQ
New Laws and Regulations
One less free day from 2024: The Danish Parliament approved the law proposal to remove the “Great Prayer Day” as a national holiday starting from 2024. The free day was on the fourth Friday after Easter.
The government parties (social democrats, liberals and moderates) and Radikale Venstre (social liberals) have voted to remove the national holiday. The socialists, the conservatives, Liberal Alliance, Enhedslisten, Alternativet, and the three far-right parties have voted against.
Why? To gather the money needed to finance the massive investments in the military.
Last time a national holiday was abolished was 253 years ago. In 1770, nine public holidays were removed. Why? The state needed more money while business and agriculture needed more labor. The same reason as today.
The national holiday was introduced in 1686 on the idea of bishop Hans Bagger. Since then we have the tradition to eat “varme hveder” on this day. Also many churches around the country are holding the “confirmations” of young people on this day.
There are 10 public holidays in Denmark (top 1 in Europe with Germany and Malta) - New Years Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Day, 2nd Easter Day, Christ’s Ascension, Pentecost, 2nd Pentecost, Christmas Day and 2nd Christmas Day. Some businesses also recognize 1st of May (Labor Day), 5th of June (Constitution Day) and New Year’s and Christmas Eves’.
Danish Citizenship, Integration and Immigration Laws
Proposal to ban headscarves in schools was rejected: According to the Minister of Immigration and Integration, “the proposal for banning Muslim headscarves in schools cannot be implemented within the framework of the Constitution and Denmark’s international obligations”.
“We will be more careful with the resident permit applications from Syrian citizens” said the Danish Immigration Agency (Udlændingestyrelsen). This comes after the Refugee Board (Flygtningenævnet) overturned 77% of last year's cases, in which the Danish Immigration Agency decided to revoke or refuse to extend resident permits for Syrian refugees.
Law proposals and ideas
The government has proposed a reform in higher education: 250 out of the 500 master's degree programs will be shortened from 2 years to 1 year and 3 months if the proposed reform is approved in Parliament.
There will be four types of master degrees:
(a) one year and three months with a clear labor market aim
(b) two years for specialized jobs or research
(c) three years for jobs with a high degree of specialization
(d) four years vocational masters which you can take while working.
The government wants to increase the number of vocational master programmes - 5000 study places from which 2500 will be in English.
An yearly increase of 1100 study places in English from 2024 until 2028. A yearly increase of 2500 study places starting from 2029.
The reform will reduce spending by 950 million DKK which will potentially be returned to the educational sector via an increase of quality.
The Social Democratic mayors of the four largest cities in Denmark are against the higher education reform.
A political majority in Copenhagen City Council is investigating if they can keep the “Great Prayer Day” as a local free day: The city council can decide, for example, which days are public school holidays (that’s why winter holidays differ depending on the municipality where you live), however, going against a national decision to remove a public holiday might be taking local self-determination a bit too far.
The Finance Law of 2023 is coming soon: The most important law of the year (the one that tells us how our tax money will be spent) will soon take the headlines like a storm. We can already see snapshots of what’s coming; - f.ex. there will be an “upskilling pool” that can be used by daycare educators to upgrade their qualifications.
The political arena
“The Danish series and movies should portray the diversity within society” according to Culture Minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt. Basically, if a cultural production is using public funding, then they should consider the society of today's Denmark. In a way, this is good news considering that, as internationals, we represent 11% of the population.
Danish Economy HQ
New collective agreement for store employees: The new collective agreement between the union of store employees (HK Handel) and Dansk Erhverv (association of employers) will be valid for the next two years if it is approved by workers.
The minimum wage is increased by 4.5 DKK per hour - a total of 721 DKK more per month.
2% more for the pension contribution and 2% more for the “fritvalgskonto”.
150,000 people work in stores covered by the collective agreement
New collective agreement for finance workers: A new collective agreement has been agreed for the 41,000 people working in the finance sector. The agreement will be valid for the next two years if the workers approve it.
4.5% wage increase in 2023 and 3.7% increase in 2024
For a finance employee that earns 40,000 DKK per month, the increase will be 3,300 DKK over the next two years
The full paid maternity leave has been extended to 26 weeks.
New collective agreement for the transport sector: 3F Transport (the union of workers in the transport industry) and Dansk Industri (the association of employers) have agreed to a new collective agreement that will be valid for the next two years if the workers approve it.
50,000 people work in the transport industry.
Wage increase of 6 DKK per hour in 2023 and 5.75 DKK in 2024 - totaling 3,150 DKK more per month from 2024.
The pension contribution distribution changes - the employer contributes with 10% while the employee with 2% (unlike the 8% to 4% distribution today)
2% more to the “fritvalgskonto”
The market
Dansk Erhverv warns companies against using Tiktok on work phones: The association of Danish businesses advised their members (18,000 companies) to delete TikTok from work phones. Why? Risk of espionage.
Denmark sent an envoy to India to increase exports: The crown prince couple, government representatives, and 38 companies within the water and energy fields have been sent as an envoy to India in order to increase Danish exports.
In 2020, Denmark and India entered into a green strategic partnership. According to the Indian prime minister “India has the size and Denmark has the capabilities”.
India with 1.4 billion people is one of the largest markets in the world and soon the most populated country in the world.
India has extensive problems with air and water pollution; excessive CO2 emissions and others which Danish companies can help solve.
Today, 0.5% of Danish exports go to India.
Norlys customers will be able to pay for actual energy consumption: The 600,000 customers from Norlys will be able to choose to pay at the end of the month for actual energy consumption instead of the prepaid amount.
“SK Energi suspended the fixed price energy contracts in August 2022 without legal grounds” said the Energy Board of Appeal (Ankenævnet på Energiområdet). Therefore, the 3000 SK Energi customers who had their fixed-price contracts suspended illegally should be compensated now. The company has 30 days to comply.
The SK Energi case creates a precedent, so if you had your fixed price energy contract suspended last year you can complain.
Daily Life in Denmark HQ
12.9% of young people use snuff or nicotine pouches: Young people’s consumption of smokeless nicotine products is on the rise.
Nicotine is a highly addictive substance that damages the immature brain and it increases the risk for anxiety and depression.
The use of nicotine can lead to learning difficulties, increased risk of concentration difficulties and a reduced ability to handle stress.
Selling “snus” is illegal in Denmark.
A new service made by Meta in collaboration with different NGOs allows you to delete intimate photos or videos from the internet: Take It Down is a free service that can help you remove or stop the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of you when you were under 18 years old. You can remain anonymous while using the service, and you won’t have to send your images or videos to anyone.
38 million DKK confiscated cash in 2022: A record year for the Danish Customs Agency. The largest amount found on one traveler was 1.7 million DKK in cash, while a group of seven had 12.6 million DKK in cash on them.
If you travel with more than 10,000 Euro cash you need to declare them at the Customs Agency.
Healthcare
Gonorrhea epidemic: 40% more people infected with gonorrhea (a sexually transmitted disease) in 2022 compared to 2021. The highest number of people infected in the last 25 years. Why? Fewer people are using condoms because the fear of sexually transmitted diseases has decreased.
Climate
“If you see a dead sea animal on the beach, please call us at 76 12 20 00” asks the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. Primarily, they are looking after seals and porpoises.
International media about Denmark HQ
Inside Denmark's opioid crisis: Teens as young as 12 hooked on tramadol, 'oxy' and other painkillers.
Denmark’s Little Mermaid statue vandalized with Russian flag graffiti.
Danish parliament urges to remove TikTok over cybersecurity.
NextGenerationEU: Positive preliminary assessment of Denmark's request for €301 million.