Weekly political overview
The next chapter in the war against screens. The Ministry of Education wants foreign language exams in gymnasiums to go analog. Why? To reduce cheating and ensure a more accurate evaluation of the student’s capabilities. Some gymnasiums have already chosen to switch to analog in May 2025.
Aalborg Municipality vs. KL (Association of Municipalities): A progressive proposal from Aalborg City Council to give public employees who are parents unlimited days to tend to their sick children has been shot down by KL, the Association of Municipalities. Why? KL said such a proposal should be discussed within the collective agreement framework, where trade unions and employer associations negotiate. The inspiration for the proposal comes from the energy company Norlys, which already has implemented it.
Current rules for child sick days: If your child is sick and you need to care for them, you must look at your contract to see if you are entitled to the “child first sick day” to avoid taking an unpaid day. Some contracts even offer two consecutive “child sick days.” Read more about the rules here. P.S. – If it’s not written, you should negotiate next time you discuss your contract to have it included.
“Short-term protests and demonstrations do not change the balance of power,” says Belgian political historian Anton Jäger in his book “Hyperpolitics.” In the last 10-15 years, the number of protest movements has increased tremendously, but without any real impact on legislation. Why? The protesters didn’t commit for the long run. They expressed their anger and then forgot to follow up. In fact, memberships in political parties, trade unions, and civil society organizations are in severe decline.
Does the municipality (kommune) use Google Translate to talk with you? Several experts on social matters say that the municipality is in a legal gray zone when they use Google Translate to talk with you. Technically, they should be using an interpreter. Why? According to the Public Administration Act, authorities are obliged to ensure that, in a child protection case, you understand the information received. The municipality has full responsibility for Google Translate being as good as an interpreter.
Proposals from political parties
- SF (Socialists) want to introduce a tourism tax in Copenhagen to strictly regulate AirBnB practices in the city, to stop the construction of new hotels, and to limit the number of cruise ships coming. The government is not positive about the ideas, as they plan to increase tourism to Denmark.
Snapshots from the political stage
- Enhedslisten (Red-Green Alliance) will hold an extraordinary general assembly on December 14th to enact new rules that will allow them to kick out members who are not following the party line. Mainly, the idea is to exclude the “Red Left” faction for not denouncing their ties with a Palestinian organization linked to the Hamas terrorist attack.
Focus
850 million DKK for the less fortunate members of our society: A broad agreement between almost all the parliamentary parties (besides DF – Nationalist Conservative) has decided how the money should be distributed.
- 100 million DKK for the homeless, to support more people moving into permanent housing.
- 70 million DKK for the disability sector, including service dogs for people with mental disabilities and an action plan for education and employment.
- 65 million DKK for the victims of violence, to support the association “Lev Uden Vold” and outpatient treatment.
- 50 million DKK to address the inequality in healthcare access.
- 23 million DKK for the adoption sector, to reform the international adoption mediation and to provide support for adoptees after the adoption.
Stricter legislation on the energy market: The Ministry of Energy announced stricter legislation for companies on the energy market, as the industry has become a bit of a “Wild West” where rules are not abided. Some electricity companies offer products that are opaque, do not comply with the law, or are unreasonably expensive. The more specific proposal will be made at the start of 2025.
