Denmark: minimum wage required for non-European workers cut

In order to address the current labour shortage in Denmark, the government and a majority of parties in the Danish parliament reached an agreement on 29 June that aims to foster international recruitment, by lowering the minimum annual salary required to hire a non-EU employee. Danish companies can now offer foreign candidates from outside the EU three-year employment contracts paying 375,000 kroner per year (€50,414), instead of the previous level of 448,000 kroner (€60,229), provided the employment conditions meet Danish standards. The employee can then obtain a residency and work permit for up to five years. Nicolai Wammen, Denmark’s finance minister, believes that the agreement will increase the size of the workforce in Denmark and benefit Danish companies that have been struggling to attract foreign labour. “The Danish economy is in a strong position, but we are currently experiencing rising prices and labour shortages in Denmark. At the same time, we have set ourselves some of the most ambitious climate targets in the world. In this situation, a responsible economic policy is to relieve the pressure on the labour market for a while by using foreign labour,” he said. While Dansk Industri, the employer organisation, welcomes the decision, the Danish trade union confederation Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation is concerned that the pay cut will lead to a broader decline in wages.