Skatteudvalget 2019-20, Skatteudvalget 2019-20, Skatteudvalget 2019-20
L 72 , L 72 A , L 72 B
Offentligt
Article 22 of the Constitution of the ILO
REPORT
Report for the period 1 June 2016 to 31 May 2019,
made by the Government of Denmark
on the
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
1948 (87)
Reference is made to previous reports.
a)
In Denmark, no new legislative or other measures affecting the application of the Convention have been in-
troduced or adopted since the last reporting.
b)
Direct request, 2016
–
Article 2 of the Convention
The DIS Main Agreement of 28 February 2013 comprises the majority of social partners in the shipping in-
dustry (Danish Shipowners' Association, The Shipowners' Association of 2010, Danish Maritime Officers,
Danish Engineers' Association and Danish Metalworkers Union (Maritime Section)).
Paragraph 7, subsection 1, last indent, of the DIS Main Agreement states that seafarers employed under a
collective agreement according to Article 10(3) of the Act on the Danish International Register of Shipping
(DIS) may choose to be a member of a Danish trade union.
The provision in article 10 of the Act on the Danish International Register of Shipping only regulates which
persons general agreements entered into by respectively Danish and foreign unions may cover. There is
nothing in Danish law preventing a seafarer not resident in Denmark and working on board a ship registered
in DIS to choose to be member of any Danish trade union provided that the membership is in accordance
with the individual trade union’s own rules.
The DIS Main Agreement of 28 February 2013 has already been enclosed in the previous report from the
Danish Government to the ILO (in Danish and in English).
c)
Reference is made to previous reports. No decisions involving questions of principle relating to the applica-
tion of the Conventions concerned have been given by courts of law or other tribunals.
d)
Copies of this report have been communicated to Local Government Denmark (KL), The Confederation of
Danish Employers (DA), The Danish Trade Union Confederation (FH) and The Danish Confederation of
Professional Associations (AC).
Employers’ organisations:
-
The Danish Employers’ Confederation, Vester Voldgade 113, DK-1790
Copenhagen V
- Local Government Denmark, Weidekampsgade 10, P.O. Box 3370, DK-2300 Copenhagen
Workers’ organisations:
- The Danish Trade Union Confederation, Islands Brygge 32D, DK-2300 Copenhagen S
- The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations, Nørre Voldgade 29, P.O. Box 2192, DK-1358
Copenhagen K.
Hearing parties of the Danish Maritime Authority:
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The Danish Shipping
The Car Ferry Association
The Trade Association for the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Industry (HORESTA)
The Danish Metalworkers' Union Maritime Section/CO-SEA
The Public Services Union
–
Maritime Section
The United Federation of Danish Workers
The Maritime Section of the United Federation of Danish Workers
Lederne Søfart
Maskinmestrenes Forening
The Association of Ferry Companies of Danish Small Islands
Sammenslutningen af Mindre Erhvervsfartøjer
Træskibssammenslutningen
SKULD
The Danish Shipbrokers Association
Danish Ship Finance
Danish Freight Forwarders
Foreningen af Danske Søassurandører
Danish Maritime
The Danish Shipping Tribunal, Danish Appeals Boards Authority
SEA HEALTH & WELFARE
e)
Comments received from the Danish Trade Union Confederation FH:
By way of introduction, FH refers to earlier contributions from LO
–
The Danish Confederations of Trade
Unions to reports on the DIS-Act
–
most recently in September 2016 and the subsequent comments/updates
regarding the government’s comments to the ILO to this date.
The independent Committee of Experts in its 2016 report
requested
the Danish government to make every
effort to ensure full respect of the principles of free and voluntary collective bargaining so that Danish trade
unions could freely represent all their members in collective bargaining process
–
Danish or equated resi-
dents as well as non-residents, working on ships sailing under Danish flag
–
and that collective agreements
concluded by Danish trade unions may cover all their members working on ships sailing under Danish flag
regardless of residence.
The Committee of experts also
requested
the Danish government to engage in national tripartite national
dialogue and
to take the necessary measures to enable all the relevant worker’s and employer’s organisa-
tions to participate therein, if they so wish, so as to find a mutually satisfactory way forward, and to indicate
in its next report its outcome and any contemplated measures.
FH finds it deeply regrettable that the Danish government for more than 30 years now, based on varying ar-
guments, has refrained from taking seriously the criticism of the Committee of Experts and the call to bring
article 10 of the DIS-Act in
accordance with the ILO’s conventions.
…
Regarding the report on Convention 87, FH reiterates that the Danish government’s reference to the fact that
a seafarer may, in accordance with the DIS-general agreement, but as an employee in accordance with arti-
cle 10, 3 of the Act, choose to be a member of a Danish trade union is insufficient and must therefore state
the following:
In accordance with article 7 of the DIS-general agreement, only the trade union organisations who are par-
ties to the general agreement may assist seafarers cf. article 10, 3 of the DIS-Act in matters that originate
from Danish legislation. Such a membership of a Danish trade union organisation is therefore immaterial to
the collective agreement coverage, which is the fundamental precondition to a membership.
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The DIS-general
agreement is therefore not of importance to FH’s criticism of article 10 of the DIS-Act
be-
cause it clearly appears from the DIS-General
agreement, article 1, that the parties’ participation to the
agreement generally
presupposes that they “observe the right to conclude DIS-collective
agreements with
foreign trade union organisations and observe such concluded agreements in accordance with the DIS-Act.”
FH reiterates that, in the construction of article 10 of the DIS-Act, with its division of negotiating powers to
Danish and foreign seafarers, a labour law vacuum has been created which does not provide any actual right
to collective bargaining for any trade union organisations. A Danish industrial dispute in the form of a strike
against ships manned by seafarers without residence in Denmark, in accordance with article 10,3, is illegal
since such workers are not covered by a collective agreement concluded in Denmark.
FH finds it urgent that the Danish government initiates actual dialogue on article 10 of the DIS-Act with all
parties from the worker-side
with a view to bringing it in accordance with the ILO’s Conventions.
Attached, is a copy of
FH’s letter of 16 September 2019.
Reply by the Danish Government:
A number of the remarks made in FH’s letter of 16 September 2019 are in line with the previous comments
to the reporting on ILO conventions 87 and 98 respectively forwarded by the organisation, including com-
ments given in 2016. In light of this and for the time being, reference is made to previous reportings and
remarks forwarded to the ILO by the Danish Government.
The fact remains, that the conditions leading to the establishment of the Danish International Ship Register
(DIS) still apply. Traditional shipping nations
–
such as Denmark
–
compete with a number of ship registers
all over the world, and Danish ships still face fierce international competition. Today, shipping has become
even more international by nature, and Danish ships are engaged in voyages all over the world. The ability
to easily transfer ships from one ship register to another as well as ship owners’ ability to establish abroad
remain basic conditions of the shipping industry.
Ships registered in DIS are subject to regulations ensuring seafarers high standards of social conditions,
including conditions of employment. Denmark is among the countries that have ratified the ILO Maritime
Labour Convention, 2006.
The additional remarks made by FH under convention no. 87 to the recent amendment to the DIS-Act are
duly noted.
On a general level the underlying reasons for maintaining the DIS remain. Thus, no amendment to the re-
port has been conducted following the letter from FH.