The increasing impact of Europeanization and migrating labour on the Danish labour market

Somewhat unexpectedly from the experience of integrating new Southern European members, the enlargement of the European Union with the Central and Eastern European countries has quite far-reaching effects on the Danish labour
market by facilitating labour migration. Since the Danish transitional agreement ended in May, 2009, and contrary to theoretical predictions from the economic crisis and the following down turn in employment, the number of workers
from EU8/2 has increased by 70 per cent in Denmark, with the total increasing from just above 10.000 in 2004 to more than 75.000 in 2012. Even though EU8/2 workers still only accounts for around three per cent of total Danish
employment there may be more significant regulatory and institutional effects since employers use the labour inflow to put pressure on wage levels, working conditions and the general scope and range of the collective agreements especially for low-skilled labour in sectors like agriculture and cleaning, that have high inflows. A large number of Eastern Europeans are working significantly below the de facto minimum wages negotiated between the social partners. This paper provides case study research from the agricultural sector and cleaning, where large cohorts of workers now are Eastern European, on how e.g. collective bargaining and wage levels experiences high pressure. The outcome might be increasing dualisation between EU 8/2 workers and native workers and low-skilled Danish workers may be pushed out of the labour market resulting in increased pressure on public benefits and the welfare state.