This Danish word is frequently heard whenever there is a strike or any kind of industrial dispute.
What is agreement?
Two pray agree means to be in agreement with or match something, while the -komst suffix is derived from the verb to come – to come or to arrive. An agreementthen, is the arrival at an agreement. It is used specifically in the context of negotiations between trade unions and employers’ organisations.
The agreement itself is a contract which regulates wages, for example stipulating that all employees with a certain job title must receive a salary within a certain pay band, as well as holiday allowance, overtime pay, working hours, and other benefits.
Agreement is therefore used to refer to a collective bargaining agreement, or a set of working conditions agreed between employers and union representatives.
READ ALSO: What is a Danish collective bargaining agreement?
Why do I need to know agreement?
Almost 70 percent of people in Denmark are members of a trade union, which means the majority of people will be covered by an agreement.
It’s when negotiations over a new agreement break down that strikes (or, conversely, ‘lockouts‘) occur.
There are other ways of describing union negotiations and agreements with words which are also used in other contexts. These include the normal words for agreement (agreement) and solution (solution): I hope that an agreement will be reached soon so that the nurses are not forced to strike (“I hope an agreement will be reached soon, so that nurses aren’t forced to go on strike”); I think we will find a good solution during the negotiations (“I believe we will come up with a good solution during the negotiations”).
Example
The employers’ organization and the trade unions are far apart, and no one expects a collective agreement for the time being.
The employers’ organization and trade unions are far apart in their demands, and a collective bargaining agreement is not expected in the near future.
