The collective agreement for state employees includes a number of improvements specific to higher education and research institutions. You can see an overview of them here.
DM’s chairperson, Camilla Gregersen, has been the head of delegations and led the negotiations within the university sector on behalf of the collected organisations in AC.
Read here which improvements have been achieved for supplements to lectors and senior researchers, improvements in parental leave conditions for fixed-term positions—for example, PhDs, post-docs, and adjuncts—and read about the inclusion of hourly-paid teachers in the collective bargaining agreement.
The improvements are financed by an agreement on the implementation of the funds which previously had been relegated to supplements for the now repealed position of professor MSO.
Improvements in parental leave/adoption for PhDs, post-docs, adjuncts, and others in fixed-term positions
For fixed-term scholarly employees with research responsibilities (for example, PhDs, adjunct/researchers and post-docs), an improvement in the conditions under parental leave and adoption has been agreed upon.
The improvements mean that employees who are on parental leave from now on remain uninterrupted in their employment and receive salary throughout the entire parental leave/adoption and the following extension, regardless of when the parental leave takes place.
Previously it had been the case that the expiration of a fixed-term employment during parental leave/adoption had led to the employee losing the right to paid parental leave during the absence and had to be re-hired after the parental leave.
The changes are a much-needed improvement, because it makes up for the unfair difference in the previous rules, where the conditions for salary under parental leave/adoption essentially were dependent on if the leave was in the beginning or end of the fixed-term employment.
The changes apply to the university employment structure, sector research employment structure, ABM-employment structure, GEUS-employment structure, Defense Academy employment structure, and the employment structure for the artistic educations under the Education and Research Ministry (The Royal Danish Art Academy for Architecture, Design, and Conservation, the Aarhus School of Architecture, and the Design School in Kolding).
Supplements for lectors, senior researchers, senior project researchers, and senior advisers
The general salary increase is 4.42 percent over the three-year collective agreement period, and is the same for all employees under the collective agreement. Additionally, the parties are in agreement on an estimate for the regulatory scheme, so the expectation is that the collected general salary increase reaches 5.05 percent.
Moreover, lectors, senior researchers, senior project researchers, and senior advisers at higher education and research institutes get an increase in the general supplement, equal to 2,405 kroner a year, so it reaches up to 100,612 kroner yearly.
This improvement applies to lectors, senior researchers, senior project researchers, and senior advisers under the university employment structure, sector research employment structure, ABM-employment structure, GEUS-employment structure, Defense Academy employment structure, and the employment structure for the artistic educations under the Education and Research Ministry (The Royal Danish Art Academy for Architecture, Design, and Conservation, the Aarhus School of Architecture, and the Design School in Kolding).
Agreement on conditions for promotion programmes
For lectors/senior researchers that are included in the new promotion programme to professor in the universities’ employment structure, a supplement of 50,081 kroner per year has been agreed upon, which is granted in addition to the lector supplement.
This part of the agreement only applies to the university sector.
Hourly employees are finally covered by the collective agreement
After more than a 20-year fight, DM has achieved the right to negotiate and make agreements for the hourly-paid teaching assistants at universities, etc.
This means that the hourly-paid teaching assistants will now be covered by the agreement for external lectors at universities, and that the hourly-paid teaching assistants have gained improvements on a number of points on the same basis as external lectors.
This applies to, for example, the possibility to agree on supplements on top of the hourly wage, better conditions in relation to parental leave/adoption, salary during sickness, and the same possibilities for the freedom to care for a sick child on the child’s second sick day as applies to other employees under the collective agreement.
Moreover they are included in the same termination rules and warnings as other employees under the collective agreement.
The hourly wage rates and preparation time are maintained for teaching assistants and written into the agreement for external lectors.
The agreement covers teaching assistants at universities and higher artistic education institutions under the Education and Research Ministry (The Royal Danish Art Academy for Architecture, Design, and Conservation, the Architect School in Aarhus, and the Design School in Kolding).
DM’s chairperson, Camilla Gregersen, says about the improvements within higher education:
”I am very happy that we have made an agreement which improves the conditions for parental leave and adoption for PhD students, post-docs, adjuncts, and others in fixed-term positions. It contributes positively to increasing equality in career possibilities, so both younger women and men have the possibility to have a research career, even when they have children,” she says.
She has also fought a hard fight to increase salaries for lectors, senior researchers, and others.
”I am to that extent satisfied that it was a success in raising the salary for lectors, senior researchers, and others—DM and I have worked intensely for that. I really had to fight at the negotiating table to get that supplement through. We have considered it important that a large group got a raise in their salaries. At the same time we have landed a deal on conditions for lectors, who are included in the new promotion programme in the universities’ employment structure,” she says, and elaborates:
“And I am of course relieved that it has finally been a success in getting the hourly-paid teachers at universities covered by the collective agreement, and at the same time have landed some concrete improvements for them. It is an important step in the fight for improving the conditions for this group, that we have gotten the right to negotiate and make agreements acknowledged.”
In the coming weeks up until the referendum we will elaborate in-depth on the results and hold informational meetings, where we review the results in detail.
Join DM
DM is the Danish Association of Masters and PhDs. Every day we advise members on a wide range of issues. When you contact DM, you will get detailed advice and a solid basis for making important career decisions.
