If it happens, the lockout will hit virtually all AU employees

The Agency for the Modernisation of Public Administration, which is the employer of all state sector employees, issued a formal lockout notice to the negotiating trade unions on 9 March.

“As I understand it, if this ends in a lockout, it will apply to more or less everyone. But I’m waiting for a clear statement from the Danish Association of Masters and PhDs,” explains Bertelsen, who is joint union representative for academic staff (VIP) and for technical/administrative staff with university degrees (AC-TAP).   

Aase Pedersen, who is joint union representative for technical/administrative staff (TAP), says the lockout notice applies to all members of the National Union of Commercial and Clerical Employees:

“Yes, it applies to all members of OAO (the Organisation of Public Employees, a union cartel, ed.), so the notice applies to all of my groups.”

An overview of the situation    

AU’s senior management team also received a copy of the formal lockout notice from the Agency for the Modernisation of Public Administration, and are currently working to get an overview of the situation, which includes assessing the emergency procedures which need to be in place – for example, out of consideration for AU’s lab animals – in case of a lockout.

“The university has received a copy of the lockout notice, and it’s quite lengthy. I expect that we will be able to provide more information on Monday. But as I said, there’s quite a lot of material that needs to be reviewed, so I don’t dare promise that it will be Monday. But in any case, it will be early next week,” says University Director Arnold Boon.    

If the negotiating parties do not reach a compromise facilitated by the conciliation board, the lockout will become a reality on 10 April.    

Who is not included in the lockout notice?    

Some groups of university employees will come to work as usual despite the general lockout. As explained on AU’s FAQ page on how a labour dispute would affect Aarhus University employees, this applies to the following groups:    

• Public servants (tjenestemænd) and staff employed on comparable terms
• Managers employed under the collective agreement for state sector university graduates in salary grade 36 or above.
• Employees who are exempted in accordance with central or local agreements regarding emergency staffing.
• Employees on individual employment contracts, which are not covered by a collective agreement because the employment relationship lies outside the scope of the collective agreement.
• Apprentices/trainees are normally excluded from a labour dispute (in accordance with the framework agreements).
• Employees who are on unpaid leave. If the period of leave ends during the labour dispute, the labour dispute will apply to the employee in question from that point in time.
• Employees who are not members of the unions included in the labour dispute notice.

If the labour dispute does not apply to you, you must report for work and perform your work as usual during the labour dispute.

 Translated by Lenore Messick