One-tenth of Danish nurses to strike after pay offer rejected

Nurses had until June 13 to vote on a proposal for a new collective agreement between public employer organisations and the union. PHOTO: REUTERS

COPENHAGEN (REUTERS) - A tenth of Denmark's nurses and radiographers will go on strike on Saturday after union members voted against a pay deal that their union had agreed to, the nurses' union said on Monday (June 14).

The strike, which begins on Saturday morning, involves 5,350 nurses or around 10% of the nursing workforce, the Danish Nurses' Organisation told Reuters. It did not say how long the strike would last.

"The dissatisfaction with wages has grown too great," union president Grete Christensen said in a statement.

"At the same time, after a year and a half with coronavirus, we are in a place where nurses have been running extra fast in a working day that was already characterised by a pressured work environment," Christensen said.

Nurses had had until Sunday to vote on a proposal for a new collective agreement between public employer organisations and the union. Around 65.5 per cent of votes were against the proposal, while 34.5 per cent were in favour.

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