Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Denmark (Ratification: 1970)

Other comments on C122

Observation

Direct Request

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Articles 1 to 3 of the Convention. Active labour market measures. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes that, according to the European Commission 2022 Country Report on Denmark (Document SWD (2022) 607 final), after declining in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employment has been increasing steadily and unemployment has fallen to one of its lowest rates since 2008 (the unemployment rate was 5.1 per cent in 2021). According to EUROSTAT, the overall employment rate was 79.1 per cent (82.5 per cent for men and 75.6 per cent for women). The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the impact of the active labour market measures implemented during the reporting period. It also notes the Government’ indication that the social partners have significant influence on employment policy. In this context, the Committee notes the tripartite agreement signed in March 2020 introducing wage compensation schemes through which enterprises received temporary wage compensation, which enabled the implementation of temporary active labour market interventions aimed at protecting workers, enterprises, and incomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government indicates that almost 250,000 workers benefitted from these schemes. In addition, the Government invested DKK 1.7 billion beginning in the summer of 2020 to upskill and reskill unemployed persons, mitigating the immediate negative effects of the crisis and developing a more skilled workforce. In this context, the Committee refers to its 2022 comments regarding the application of the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88), in which it notes the set of measures taken in the framework of the agreement between the Government and political parties to simplify the employment system. The Government reports that, in November 2017, the sum of DKK92 million was allocated to a series of projects intended to support upskilling of the unemployed workforce, as well as to address certain bottlenecks in the labour market. However, challenges remain in relation to labour shortages in different sectors, particularly in the construction sector, the hotel and restaurant sector, information and communication services, and in the cleaning and other operational services. The Committee further notes from the European Commission report that, in April 2022, 43 per cent of firms in the construction sector reported experiencing labour shortages, as did 37 per cent of firms in the services sector. Labour shortages have also been reported in greening sectors, such as the professional, scientific and technical sectors. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the nature, scope and impact of employment measures taken to increase labour supply and reduce unemployment, including the impact of measures taken to address labour market bottlenecks.It further requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information on the engagement of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of employment policy measures and programmes.

Education and training. The Government refers to the signing of a tripartite agreement in October 2017 which undertook to build a stronger, more flexible adult and continuing education and training system. The agreement provides for, among other measures, the establishment of a fund for the purpose of providing skills upgrading for workers, to ensure that the workers’ skills respond to the needs of the labour market. The Government reports that a budget of DKK2.5 billion has been allocated for this purpose. An evaluation will be carried out at the end of the four-year implementation period, when the parties will meet to discuss the rest of the saved funds regarding adult and continuing education. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information on the impact of the education and training programmes implemented, including the results of the evaluation of the tripartite agreement on adult and continuing education. The Government is also requested to provide information on further measures that may be envisaged in this context.

Regional development. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the results of the regional development measures implemented in the framework of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme and the European Social Fund (ESF) programme. The funds are implemented to support growth and employment across the country through innovation, entrepreneurship, green growth initiatives, education and job creation. The ERDF programme contains four focus areas: innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), creating more high growth SMEs through counselling, supporting green transitions in SMEs and circular economy, providing advice to companies on becoming more resource efficient, and initiatives in cities with more than 30,000 inhabitants. The ESF programme also contains four priority axes: entrepreneurship and growth-oriented informal training, social inclusion, vocational education, and higher education, and increasing the mobility of labour across national borders through the EURES network (the European cooperation network of employment services, designed to facilitate the free movement of workers). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed informationon the results of the regional development measures in terms of creating lasting and sustainable employment, including statistical information, disaggregated by age, sex and region.

Older workers. The Committee notes that, according to EUROSTAT, the employment rate among older workers (population aged 55 to 64) in 2021 was 72.3 per cent. The Government indicates that seniors do not have a general increased risk of unemployment; however, if they lose their job, they experience a slightly higher risk of long-term unemployment. Moreover, the Government provides information regarding the allocation of funds for the implementation of initiatives targeted at unemployed older workers. These include experimental schemes aimed at determining whether placing older workers in temporary jobs can help them to reintegrate into the labour market, as well as the establishment of local “senior networks”, which provide job search assistance to older workers in addition to training and motivational activities. Other measures include lowering procedural requirements for older workers to receive wage subsidies. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information on measures taken to promote the employment of older workers as well as on the impact of such measures on their ability to access or remain in lasting employment.

Workers with disabilities. The Government reports that, in 2019, 84 per cent of persons without disabilities were in employment, compared to 58 per cent of persons with disabilities. The Government adds that the employment gap between people with disabilities and those without disabilities declined from 35 per cent in 2012 to 26 per cent in 2019. It indicates that there has long been an untapped employment potential among people with disabilities. In January 2022, a new agreement on a "Better Resource Clarification Process (Bedre Ressuorceforløb)" entered into force, with a view to providing more tailored resource courses and carrying out early interventions. For instance, participants have a right to receive professional advice from a health coordinator, who can advise them as to whether a job offer takes sufficient account of the participant’s health situation. Participants also have the right to a personal job intermediary. This intermediary, working in cooperation and close dialogue with the person, is required to provide support to ensure that the right match is created between the person and an employer, so that the person can be employed as an ordinary employee. The Government indicates that if participants have not been placed in a job, an action under the Social Services Act or a municipal action under the Health Care Act, within 6 months of the start of the resource programme, they are entitled to receive an “effort guarantee”. The Government reports that, in 2019, after three months of the resources course, only 3 per cent of the participants were in employment, 3 per cent had become self-sufficient and 1.2 per cent had entered education. The Government adds that 3 out of 5 participants had been granted an early retirement pension. With regard to women with disabilities, the Committee notes that, in its 2021 concluding observations, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern at the lack of data on the participation rate of women with disabilities in the Danish labour market (Document CEDAW/C/DNK/CO/9, paragraph 32(d)). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on the impact of the measures taken to promote equal access to employment opportunities for women and men with disabilities on the open labour market.

Recruitment of foreign workers. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the measures taken to promote the recruitment of EU workers. The Government indicates that, following the expansion of the EURES Network to private employment agencies, in 2019 it admitted new partners. Moreover, the Government refers to the entry into force in July 2020 of the Positive List for Skilled Work scheme (updated twice a year), which is a list of skilled professions for which there is a shortage of qualified professionals in Denmark. The main objective of this residence scheme is to assist national companies by facilitating their access to qualified professionals within certain fields. The Government adds that, under the scheme, the salary and terms of employment must correspond to national standards, thereby avoiding social dumping. The Labour Market Attachment scheme also entered into force in July 2020. It enables national companies to keep foreign nationals as workers if they have been working in Denmark for at least two years and if the original residence permit of the foreign national has been revoked or an extension has been refused. This scheme enables Danish companies to keep foreign workers that they have trained within their field of work. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information on the impact of the measures taken concerning the recruitment of foreign workers from both EU and non-EU countries, as well as any measures taken or envisaged with respect to the employment of migrant women.

Youth employment. The Committee observes that, according to EUROSTAT, in 2021, the youth employment rate stood at 53.9 per cent (while the EU has an average employment rate for young persons of 32.7 per cent). Denmark has one of the lowest rates in the EU of young people (aged 15 to 29) who are neither in employment in education or training (NEETs): 8 per cent among young men and 8.9 per cent among young women. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that measures to promote the employment of young people are developed and implemented in collaboration with the social partners and other stakeholders, which include job centres, municipalities, educational institutions and municipal youth guidance units. At the local level, municipalities are responsible for establishing coherent and cross-sectoral measures for young persons which coordinate educational, employment and guidance initiatives through the municipal youth guidance units. The units offer guidance and outreach services, as well as follow-up work to young people under the age of 25. In this respect, the youth guidance units cooperate closely with primary and lower secondary schools and youth educational institutions, as well as with local businesses and the public employment service. At the regional level, the regional guidance centres also cooperate with relevant stakeholders, including youth educational and higher education institutions, as well as the social partners. Finally, the Government indicates that the preparatory basic education system was reformed in 2019, with the adoption of the Act on Municipal Youth Measures (Lov om kommunal indsats for unge under 25 år, LBK nr 825 af 16/08/2019). Following the adoption of the 2019 Act, the guidance services provided by municipalities for young people under the age of 25 must meet certain requirements, which include taking into account the interests and personal qualifications and skills of the individual, including informal competencies and previous education and work experience, as well as the expected need for skilled labour and self-employment. The services target young people who, in the absence of individualised guidance, are expected to experience difficulties in relation to choice and completion of an education, training and career. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information, including disaggregated statistical data on youth employment measures taken or envisaged, as well as on their impact.