News

UNI global union* today signed a global agreement with Danish-based finance multinational Danske Bank, covering 24,000 workers.

The agreement - negotiated by UNI Finance president Allan Bang with the help of six unions in Scandinavia and Ireland - recognises the competitive benefit for the company of good relations with trade unions and guarantees labour rights for workers worldwide.

Dialogue is supported at both national and global levels with the company promising a high level of relevant information and encouraging a high degree of employee involvement.

The global agreement commits to International Labour Organisation conventions covering labour rights**, health and safety and equal remuneration.

The agreement was signed at Danske Bank in Copenhagen by UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings; representatives of Danish, Irish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish finance unions*** as well as Danske Bank’s Senior Vice President and Head of HR and Communication Lars Mørch and Senior Vice President Bent Jespersen.

The majority of Danske Bank’s employees are in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden.



In the agreement the Bank “recognises the potential competitive outcome of good relations with trade unions and employee organisations and places great emphasis on these relations”.

Dialogue is a key union priority in managing change and Danske Bank commit to integrating employment and social consequences into strategic decisions and to use internal mobility measures to avoid or limit lay offs.

Danske Bank accepts its role in ensuring that employees can maintain a healthy work-life balance and acknowledges its responsibility to protect bank staff from robbery and kidnap by systematically assessing risks and adopting preventative measures.

The bank also commits to promote the agreement in companies where Danske Bank has a minority shareholding and with outsource partners and suppliers.



“Global agreements help set high standards for multinational companies wherever they operate around the world,” said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. “We believe that Danske Bank’s highly positive commitment will help raise the bar for these agreements in promoting effective dialogue and labour rights. This is a first for a European-based finance company.”



* UNI is the global union for skills and services with more than 900 unions in 160 countries and more than 15 million affiliated members worldwide.

** The core labour standards of the ILO include the right to join unions and to bargain collectively as well as freedom from discrimination, child and forced labour.

*** Union signatories: UNI global union with IBOA Ireland, Finansforbundet Norway; Finansforbundet Sweden; SUORA Finland; DFL and Finansforbundet Denmark.