Denemarken beperkt arbeidsmigratie uit Oost-Europa (en)

The Danish centre-right government has agreed with the opposition to tighten rules for workers from new EU member states in a bid to fight cheap labour and counter growing trade unions concerns.

The Danish parliament agreed, before enlargement 1 May 2004, to open the labour market to citizens from the new EU countries, but demanded that workers coming to work for Danish companies have work permits and get the same pay and social benefit conditions as Danish citizens.

However, some employers - mainly in the farming and construction industry - have since tended to hire workers from east and central Europe through temp agencies, which pay them less and created unfair competition for Danish workers, according to trade unions.

Under the new compromise adopted in the Danish parliament on Wednesday (16 March), it should be more difficult for these agencies to employ foreign workers.

In future, agencies must present E101 statements for their workers to ensure that they have health insurance and are eligible for social security payments from their home country.

Denmark will subscribe to the central register of E101 statements and hopes in this way to improve controls.

"This means, we will have a register, and we can access it to see who is posted in Denmark and thus better control, that rules are respected", said the Danish Minister of Labour Claus Hjort Frederiksen to Politiken.

At the initiative of Danish immigration authorities, the police are currently investigating 26 cases of companies illegally importing low-wage workers from Eastern Europe. The first case is set to appear in court in Spring.

Since EU enlargement, Copenhagen has issued about 1,500 work permits to new EU citizens.