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27 July - 2 August 2012 | Vol 15 Issue 30
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Denmark’s only English-language newspaper | cphpost.dk PETER STANNERS
NEWS
Germany’s circumcision ruling has breathed new life into Denmark’s on-going debate about the practice
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SPORT
Final whistle Fans in Brøndby won’t have Per Bjerregaard to kick around any more, after the club’s founding father bows to pressure and resigns
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NEWS
Green is the colour of futility For many skilled migrants, the green card scheme isn’t what they believed it was cracked up to be
Not all weather forecasts are created equal, a Swedish study claims. Apples and oranges, reply last ranked Danes
5
Union accused of bullying restaurant owner RAY WEAVER
LIFESTYLE
Tastes of the season This week, our quarterly lifestyle guide prepares our palates for a bountiful harvest
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6&7
Decision to sign collective bargaining agreement with independent union unleashes blockade of Vejle restaurant
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O RUBBISH removal, no ads in the local newspaper and picketers at the entrance to his restaurant. That is what Amin Skov, the owner of Restaurant Vejlegården, has endured since he decided in November to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the independent trade union Krifa, instead of traditional trade union 3F. The management of 3F, which organises unskilled labourers, reacted with a blockade against the popular eatery in March and the battle has continued since.
Poul Erik Christensen, president of 3F, defended the tactics critics have likened to the methods used by the Mafia. “The owner did not want to pay the wages he had agreed to under our deal,” Christensen told the press. “He decided instead to make a deal with Krifa. My role as a union leader is to make sure that our members have decent wages and working conditions.” Christensen said the methods 3F is using are legal and defined in an agreement between labour confederation LO and employers’ confederation, Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening. That agreement allows unions to organise strikes against businesses that do not sign collective bargaining agreements. The bone of contention in the struggle is not that Restaurant Vejlegården is unwilling to sign a collective bargaining agreement. It has. Just not with 3F. Skov chose instead to
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reach an agreement with Krifa, which is not a member of LO, but is instead one of a number of independent unions that typically offer lower dues to members and which have been draining members from LO unions in recent years. Critics have asked 3F why employers do not have the right to sign collective bargaining agreements with the union of their choice. “The employer wants free choice, but our members are the ones who wind up paying for his choice,” said Christensen. “When people are unemployed and receiving benefits, they could wind up getting assigned to work at this restaurant. If we do not have an agreement guaranteeing decent pay, our members could be assigned jobs with 10 or 20 percent lower wages.” Members of the opposition have joined in criticising strong-arm tactics
employed by a group Inger Støjborg (Venstre), the former employment minister, simply described as “bullies”. Christensen was undeterred by the name-calling. “I am surprised that there are so many who are apparently unaware of the rules in Denmark,” he said. “We are well within our rights.” The restaurant, however, is not the only business that has found itself dragged into the conflict. The local newspaper, Vejle Amts Folkeblad, was forced to drop advertisements for the restaurant after members of a printer’s union that supports 3F said they would refuse to print the paper if it ran them. That situation seems to be on its way to being resolved, with both the paper and Skov saying the advertisements would be back soon.
Union continues on page 4
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Brasserie Degas / Le Macaron by Degas - Trommesalen 5, 1614 Copenhagen V - www.brasseriedegas.dk - Tlf.: +45 33 22 28 26