New Work Councils: Expanded cooperation in the public sector in Denmark

Abstract

This article discusses several pilot projects carried out by Danish state institutions between 1995 and 1998 to extend employee participation through changes in the structure, competencies, and task areas within workplace work councils and safety organizations. In extending these projects, the employers and employees' organizations agreed in 1999 to prolong the existing cooperative agreement as well as a framework agreement that allows for new ways to organize cooperation and safety activities. The article discusses these initiatives and raises a series of questions about the possibilities and, difficulties connected with increased employee participation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.