The Danish Trade Union Confederation (, FH) is the largest

national trade union centre Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a ...

in Denmark. On formation in 2019, it had 79 affiliated unions, with a total of 1.4 million members.

History

The confederation was founded on 1 January 2019, when the

Danish Confederation of Trade Unions LO, The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions ( Danish: ''LO, Landsorganisationen i Danmark'' or simply ''LO'') was founded in 1898 and was an umbrella organisation (the largest of the three national trade union centers in Denmark) for 18 Danish ...

(LO) merged with the

Confederation of Professionals in Denmark A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

(FTF). LO consisted of 18 unions, with a total of one million members, most of whom worked in the private sector, while FTF consisted of 70 professional organisations, with a total of just under 500,000 members, most of whom worked in the public sector. LO and FTF began discussing a possible merger in 2015. Some affiliates were dubious about the proposition. The FTF's Finance Federation opposed the merger, while LO's largest affiliate, the

United Federation of Danish Workers The United Federation of Workers in Denmark (, 3F) is a Danish labor union. The union was formed in 2004, from the merger of the Danish Women Workers' Union and the Danish General Workers' Union. In 2006, the Restaurant Trade Union merged in ...

(3F), only decided to support it early in March 2018. One week after 3F's decision, the FTF and LO voted on the proposal. 389 out of 400 delegates to the LO conference approved the merger, and 71.4% of voters in the FTF approved. The new federation's name and leadership were agreed in October 2018. Denmark's other trade union centre, the

Danish Confederation of Professional Associations Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A Danish person, also called a "Dane", can be a national or citizen of Denmark (see Demographics of Denmark) * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, ...

(AC), decided against joining the new federation, arguing that its members' interests differed from those of the members of the LO and FTF.

Policy

The new organisation decided to maintain the "Danish model", whereby pay and working conditions are negotiated without state involvement. It also argued in support of the Danish

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

. The federation remained affiliated to the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and ...

(ETUC), and argued that, as a larger organisation, it would be more influential within the ETUC. The federation also affiliated to Joint Committee of the Nordic Social Democratic Labour Movement, but described itself as independent of any political party. The federation organises

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

demonstrations. For its first May Day, in 2019, the theme of the demonstrations was "unity".

Organisation

The federation is led by president Lizette Risgaard, former president of LO, and six vice presidents. The unions affiliated to FH have a high degree of independence, leaving the headquarters relatively small and with limited funds. FH was established with 25% fewer staff than its combined predecessors, and aimed to save 30% of administration costs.

Affiliates

References

{{European Trade Union Confederation National trade union centers of Denmark Trade unions established in 2019