Activity of LO (The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions)
Aims and objectives
LO (the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions) was founded in 1898 and is an umbrella organisation for 18 Trade Unions. Members are typically skilled or unskilled manual labourers and blue collar workers. About 76% of Danish workers are members of a Union. LO represents about half of them. LO's role is to coordinate collective agreements on behalf of workers. LO also seeks to influence the government and political parties when it comes to drafting and implementing legislation, especially in relation to labour market policies.
Creator/owner/responsible institution
Name: LO (The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions)
Stakeholder: Social partner
Area of intervention: Men and gender equality
Organisation Country: Denmark
Organisation Zip Code: 2300
Contact person:
-
Name: Jette Lykke
Contents/activities/services
Activities
LO has two main focus areas:
- Equal Pay: The Danish labour market has problems securing equal pay between men and women. LO focuses on closing the pay gap between men and women by, among other things, requiring better equal pay legislation, mapping barriers and possibilities with respect to agreements.
- The gender-segregated labour market: The-gender segregated labour market and gender-segregated education choices are one of the biggest challenges facing the future labour market. When young Danes choose technical colleges, they normally choose what is expected of them; i.e. many young men choose to become craftsmen, while women choose health education.
FIU (The Unions internal education programme) also has several programmes in relation to men's involvement in gender equality (www.fiu.dk) 2011 examples:
- Close the pay gap: http://www.loli.dk/kurserogarrangementer/~/media/loli/2011%20KurserKonfe... - Men's health: http://www.loli.dk/~/media/loli/2011%20KurserKonferencer/110614_TidligOpsporingMaendsSundhed%20pdf.ashx
- A new equality concept - that includes men? http://www.loli.dk/kurserogarrangementer/~/media/loli/2011%20KurserKonfe...
Conferences
- LO Conference on gender segregation in education, Copenhagen, 30 October 2009
- Nordic Council of Ministers Conference on "Men, equality and welfare", Oslo, 6 February 2007
Materials
- LO (2009) De kønsopdelte uddannelsesvalg - Malerfaget, SOSU-faget og el-faget (LO-Dokumentation) (Gender segregated educational choices - painters, social and health care workers, and electricians), Copenhagen, no. 2 (Helle Holt, Anika Liversage, Lotte Bloksgaard)
- LO (2007) Magasin om det kønsopdelte arbejdsmarked (MK) (Magazine on the gender segregated labour market), Copenhagen, October 2007 • LO & LGBT Denmark (2007) Kan du være dig selv på jobbet? (Can you be yourself at work?) (pamphlet), Copenhagen
- Warming K. (2007) Køn, løn og anerkendelse (Gender, pay and recognition) (report), Roskilde, FOA & RUC