- Date:
- 14 May 2014
Special circumstances are required for a Danish trade union to be entitled to start an industrial conflict to secure a collective agreement for work in an enterprise located abroad
Special circumstances are required for a Danish trade union to be entitled to start an industrial conflict to secure a collective agreement for work in an enterprise located abroad.
It is a fundamental principle in labour law that industrial action may be taken for the purpose of securing a collective agreement for work which is not covered by a collective agreement. But can the industrial action also be taken against enterprises located outside of Denmark? That was the question before the Danish Labour Court in this case.
The case concerned a transport company located in Estonia. The company forms part of a larger group, whose parent is located in Denmark. The Estonian company has 706 truck driver employees, who transport goods to a number of European destinations. Some – but not many – of the transports – take place in Denmark, and the trucks are registered in Denmark. Against this background, a Danish trade union notified the transport group that it intended to launch a blockade and solidarity action to support its demand for a collective agreement to cover the work carried out by the truck driving employees of the Estonian company. The company did not believe that the Danish trade union had the requisite industrial interest in launching a conflict against the company, so the matter was brought before the Labour Court.
No special circumstances
The Labour Court ordered the Danish trade union to acknowledge that the blockade and solidary action it had notified was illegal.
The Labour Court ordered the Danish trade union to acknowledge that the blockade and solidary action it had notified was illegal.
In that connection, the Court took into account that the Estonian company was a real and independent legal entity and not a so-called PO box company. The fact that the trucks were registered in Denmark did not change this. Based on the truck drivers' limited and secondary association with Denmark in performing their work, the Court was not satisfied that the Danish trade union had the requisite industrial interest in achieving a collective agreement to cover the work in question.
Norrbom Vinding notes
- that the ruling is in line with case law, which has established that in order for industrial action to be taken against an enterprise located outside of Denmark, the trade union must have the requisite industrial interest; and
- that extraordinary circumstances of some strength and current relevance are required in order to be able to establish that the trade union has such interest; but
- that the ruling also illustrates the challenges faced by trade unions trying to protect truck drivers employed on Danish terms and conditions from being priced out of the market by cheaper workers when they are not allowed to launch a conflict in a situation such as this.
