Many developing countries suffer from a lack of labour market regulation and unequal access to rights, education, health, and social security. It harms workers and companies, and the population as a whole. It creates instability in the labour market and increases the risk of conflicts between workers and employers, as well as a large informal economy where workers are not covered by legislation.
Decent framework conditions, on the other hand, provide predictability for companies and employees and help to ensure a dynamic business climate. By framework conditions are meant the laws and regulations, institutions and infrastructure that support the private sector as well as the individual's basic freedoms and rights and access to social security, education, health and a well-functioning legal system.
We work to ensure that workers and employers in developing countries can organize freely in trade unions and employers' organizations and have the right to collective bargaining. And to enable our sister organizations on both side of the labour market to advocate for reforms of and compliance with framework conditions.
The cooperation between workers and employers is called social dialogue. In many developing countries, the tradition of social dialogue and negotiation is less widespread than in Denmark, where we have main agreements, collective agreements and tripartite negotiations. The lack of social dialogue increases the risk of conflicts quickly escalating and resulting in social unrest, low productivity, and unsafe working conditions. Such as situation benefits neither workers, business, nor society.
The prerequisite for social dialogue is that both employees and employers are represented through their own organisations. This means that each party must have a democratic mandate, so that the members' interests are taken care of as best as possible.
We work to ensure that both employees and employers are properly equipped to engage in social dialogue. This requires strong, representative organizations with broad member support and well-trained negotiators on both sides of the table. The Danish Labour Market Consortium advises our local partners on the benefits of social dialogue and its international rules and inspires the partners to foster skilled managers and shop stewards who are capable of mediating, negotiating and reaching binding agreements for the mutual benefit of companies and employees.
When employers and trade unions have become accustomed to working together and have learned to trust that both parties will keep their part of the agreement, there is fertile ground for them to jointly develop and present powerful reform proposals to the government.