Employment Relations Research Centre
New challenges for public service social dialogue –
the case of Denmark
Nana Wesley Hansen& Mikkel Mailand
FAOS – Employment Relations Research Center
Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen
With the financial support of the European Union
VP/2013/0362
Research partner workshop, Utrecht, June 6, 2014
Dias 1
Employment Relations Research Centre
Schools in Denmark
•
The Danish Folkeskole, founded in 1814 (Folkeskole Act)
•
Primary and lower secondary education, i.e. grade 0 to 6
and grade 7-9/10.
•
2013: 1.312 public schools and 548 private schools. Less
than a fifth of all students attended private schools
•
Reformed several times – latest 2013/14 (major conflict in
collective bargaining round 2013 – teachers working time )
Sted og dato
Dias 2
Employment Relations Research Centre
Schools in Denmark - service users
Parents
• 1934 parents gained the right to involvement - school
councils
• 1935 The National Association of School Parents’ (Skole og
forældre) formed
• 1989 school boards introduced through legislation
Pupils
• ‘Ad hoc student involvement/councils 1960 and 70’ies
• 1969 first national organization formed on Folkeskole level
• 2004 Danish Schoolchildren (Danske Skoleelever, DSE)
formed on the basis of a merger of two separate
organizations
• Represented in school boards and student councils
Other
• Industrial associations, local cultural and sports clubs
Sted og dato
Dias 3
Employment Relations Research Centre
Schools in Denmark – levels/scope of involvement
Level
Actors
Issues
National
National Association More than 30 official committees and
of School Parents
working groups involving amongst other:
 Partnership on development of the
school
 Assessment and advice on the
academic level in the school
 Social inclusion in the school
 Student counselling
???
Indirect
Danish School
Children
Municipal National Association Innovation and development of the
of School Parents
schools
Evaluation
Danish School
Student involvement techniques
Children
Innovation and development of the
schools
Other actors: local
Ad hoc innovation and development of
culture and sports
the schools
clubs, industrial
associations etc.
Sted og dato
Dias 4
Direct/
indirect
Indirect
Indirect
Indirect
Direct
Employment Relations Research Centre
Schools in Denmark – levels/scope of involvement
Level
Actors
School
School board Principels
(parents,
 the organization of teaching (i.e. the number of
pupils, staff,
lessons for each grade, the length of the school day,
managem.)
elective courses and special courses)
 the collaboration between school and home
 evaluation on students achievement in class
 the distribution of work among the teachers
 social events, afterschool arrangements.
 approval of educational materials
 general rules and values of the school
 approval of the yearly school budget
All matters of significance to the student body
Student
council
Other actors: Directly involved in the service delivery
Class
Issues
Direct/
indirect
Indirect
Indirect
Direct
Parents
General rules for social interaction in the class
Individual pupils assessment/development
Indirect/
Direct
Pupils
Class rules for social interaction etc.
Individual pupils assessment/development
Indirect/
Direct
Sted og dato
Dias 5
Employment Relations Research Centre
Schools in Denmark –consequences/pressure?
•
The National Association of School Parents’ (Skole og forældre)
•
Danish Schoolchildren (Danske Skoleelever, DSE)
Versus
•
Local Government Denmark (LGDK) (employers org)
•
The Danish Union of Teachers (DLF)
•
The Danish Association of School Leaders
•
Early Childhood and Youth Educators (BUPL)
National/sector level results
•
Variance in representative base!
•
More about discourse than actual pressure!
•
Strengthened management focus!
Sted og dato
Dias 6
Employment Relations Research Centre
Hospitals in DK – structure and user involvement drivers
Hospital structure
•
Regions responsible for 53 public hospital employing 107.000
•
30-someting private hospitals/clinics – reduced recently - suppliers
User involvement history in hospitals
•
User involvement long history, but more attention since late 2000s
•
Within last three years all actors sign up, you cannot be against it.
Actors seen as paying more than lip-service to the term
•
Users often seen as patients and relatives, but sometimes broader
•
Actors have different understanding/emphasis diff. dimensions
•
Why: 1) problem pressure; 2) budget pressure/saving attempts;
3) research and policy learning from USA and UK; 4) first umbrella
user involvement org. 2007; new patient roles and demands
•
Basic forms: single treatment process, research and health sector
Sted og dato
Dias 7
Employment Relations Research Centre
Hospitals in DK – service users and other actors
The user organizations
•
Danish Patient set up 2007, 17 member-org. Covers 79 org.
•
Appoints members to more than 100 councils etc.
•
Responsible for a foundation-funded knowledge-center for userinvolvement
Other key actors in user involvement
•
Ministry of Health/National Health Authority
•
Public hospitals
•
Private hospitals/clinics
•
Five regions and their employer org. Danish Regions
•
Trade unions (for doctors, nurses and nurse-assistants)
•
(Municipalities and their empl org Local Government Denmark)
•
(General practitioners)
Sted og dato
Dias 8
Employment Relations Research Centre
Hospitals in DK – forms, levels and scope of user invol.
Organizational involvement aka indirect involvement
•
Sector (health): No permanent body, but Danish Patients now
nearly always consulted. Sometimes invited together Danish
Regions and TUs. Legal demand for invol.,but hearing is enough
•
Region: Recently legal demand for ‘user councils’, only patient
representatives. Broad aims and competences in health area.
•
Hospital/department: No legal demand. Great variation. Include
apart from patient reps and patients org reps, also employee
reps and management reps. Advisory to management.
•
Interviewees find in indirect involvement huge variation, no or
broad aims and different understandings between actors
Individual involvement aka direct involvement
•
Standard ‘talk with patient’, extented ‘involving talk with patient’
•
‘Informed approval’ , extended ‘joint decision making’
Sted og dato
Dias 9
Employment Relations Research Centre
Hospitals in DK – consequences etc. for social dialogue
Social dialogue in health sector
•
The word ‘social dialog’ not used
•
Collective bargaining and employee involvement well-developed
and found on sector, region and hospital/department levels
Four preliminary findings of SD relations to user involvement
•
Social dialogue (bargaining + involvement) and user invol takes
place on different decision-making arenas. Formally no overlap
•
Social partners and user organizations meet on user involvement
arena, not on social dialogue arena
•
No signs user invol substitute social dialogue. Mutual recognition
of roles in user invol, but social partners not seen as first movers
•
Could indicate purely complementary arenas w. no cross-effects,
but 1) TU see user invol as possibility for influencing policy, 2)
indirect effect on work org and work intensification, 3) User
demands taking into social dialogue arena by TU and employers
Sted og dato
Dias 10