Testing The Danish Model - a Case Study of the CSC-conflict

Article by Anna Ilsøe

Although the number of conflicts on the Danish labour market in general is low, we now see more examples of workplace conflicts over pay reductions. One of the significant examples is the re-negotiation of two company agreements between CSC, a US-owned IT-company, and PROSA, the union for IT-professionals in Denmark, which led to a large conflict in spring 2011.

Drawing on document studies and 10 interviews with employer- and employee representatives involved in the conflict this article investigates the causes and consequences of the conflict.

The analysis demonstrates that the conflict does not break with the rules of conflict in The Danish Model. However, the negotiations at company level between CSC and PROSA deviate from a core characteristic of the model – the central coordination of negotiations – which might explain why the conflict was not solved at the bargaining table.

Article in Tidsskrift for Arbejdsliv, nr. 2, June 2012