Analysis of HK's confederate affiliation
Research paper by Søren Kaj Andersen and Christian Lyhne Ibsen
HK organizes commercial and clerical workers in both public and private sector in Denmark. The motivation for the study is that HK/Municipal’s Congress in January 2012 decided that there should be an analysis of opportunities and barriers in relation to the organization's affiliation to the union confederation, LO. Behind this Congress decision were a number of factors, which raised questions about its confederate relation. It is the experience in HK/Municipal that many of the sector's natural partners in municipalities and regions come from organizations that are organized in FTF – the main confederation for salaried workers. It is the experience that the existing membership of LO carries with it solutions that reflect 'lowest common denominator' for HK/Municipal’s members, especially when it comes to the education and employment policies. Since the Congress it was decided that the analysis should be conducted as a joint survey of the entire HK/Denmark. FAOS was asked to do the analysis.
The report's overall aim is to describe and analyze the opportunities and barriers for a shift in confederate affiliation for the entire HK, including its four sectors - however, with a special focus on HK / Municipal. The topics investigated include the performance of HK's interests in the education and employment policy areas, collective bargaining systems and the professional identity and community of HK’s members with other professional groups. Furthermore, issues concerning relations between the three main confederations LO, FTF and AC and any merger opportunities are discussed. The report is based on interviews with representatives from HK, LO, FTF, AC and other unions as well as employer organizations. In addition, a questionnaire was conducted among HK's members. Finally, a legal and labor law assessment was made of the contractual relations of HK.
The report begins with an executive summary followed by eight chapters. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the main topics of the report. Chapter 2 deals with the history behind HK's affiliation of LO. Chapter 3 analyzes HK's interests in education and the role of confederation in education policies. Chapter 4 deals with HK's employment policy interests and the roles of the union confederations. Chapter 5 explains the issues in relation to confederations and the collective bargaining system. Chapter 6 investigates results from the questionnaire on questions related to professional identity and community with other professional groups. Chapter 7 presents six scenarios for HK's confederate affiliation and reviews and discusses the issues raised in connection with each scenario. Finally, chapter 8 discusses the future of union confederations in Denmark.