New work environment agreement focuses on prevention and permanence

Permanence and prevention are two central themes in an agreement between the Danish government, the Socialist People’s Party (SF) and the Red-Green Alliance to allocate 135 million Danish kroner (€18m) over the next four years for a range of work environment measures.

The money will be aimed at preventing violence, threats, workplace accidents and  burnout. Hospital workers and school teachers will be given the chance to learn new ways of avoiding violence and threats. The agreement also improves measures aimed at helping people who are psychologically tired to stay in the labour market. So far people who have been physically tired have had the opportunity to get help to change work tasks or trades. This will now also be available for people who are psychologically tired.

The agreement also means more money for work environment research, including research into whether nano particles can have an impact on consumers’ and workers’ health.

There will be improved control measures against social dumping, Foreign companies operating in Denmark must register there. This will now be expanded to include foreigners operating as sole traders in Denmark.

It will also be possible to report workplace accidents from the casualty department and there will be money allocated to strengthen the fight against sexual harassment.

The Minister for Employment Henrik Dam Kristensen (the Social Democratic Party) is particularly happy that the agreement will secure even more jobs by preventing accidents, violence and burnouts.

“Even though we have a fundamentally good work environment in Denmark, there are still workplaces where safety and health is not up to scratch — and we are going to put a stop to that,” he says.