Today’s headlines – Wednesday, Dec 5

Parents give high marks to school reform
The vast majority of parents of public school students agree that the teachers should accept demands that they should increase their classroom time to an average of 18 hours, from the current 16. According to a Gallup poll, some 73 percent of parents are positively inclined towards the school reform unveiled by the government yesterday. The reform will see a number of changes, including a longer school day for students, while subjects such as English, math and Danish will be learnt from an earlier age. Opposition parties Venstre and Konservative also support the proposal. The national teachers’ union, DLF, is opposed.  – Berlingske

Government drags feet on public assitance for critically ill
People who have received the state’s 100,000 kroner compensation payment in connection with a critical illness are still not able to receive other forms of public assistance, despite the current government calling the rules “inhumane” before it took office last year. The Employment Ministry has estimated that every year about 500 public assistance recipients are given the 100,000 kroner payment to compensate them for pain and suffering. Allowing people to collect both public assistance and receive the payment would cost the state between 15 and 25 million kroner. – Jyllands-Posten

Former leading member of Hells Angels switches to rivals
Brian Sandberg, a former leading member of the motorcycle gang Hells Angels, is now playing for the other team. Sandberg, who left the Hells Angels back in August for what he said were personal reasons, has now joined the rival gang Bandidos. That move now puts him in bad standing with his former gang members and has caused negotiations on a peace deal between the rival gangs to break down. The two sides have been working on an agreement for the past several weeks but Hells Angels spokesperson Jørn ‘Jønke’ Nielsen told DR News that those talks have collapsed. Sandberg was released from prison last month after being acquitted on attempted murder charges. – Ekstrabladet

History project to give “view from the bottom of society”
Svenborg Museum on Funen is set to begin collecting the life stories of living people with handicaps, former orphanage children and elderly with mental health issues as part of a socio-historical research project seeking to shed light on the lives of the disadvantaged between 1945 and 1976. The museum will be collecting information on the subject for a report, due to be completed by 2014, which historians hope will give a “view from the bottom of society” during the period. – Kristeligt Dagblad

Weather
Flurries with a mix of sun and clouds. Highs around -2 C. Lows overnight dipping to -10 C. Windy at times. – DMI





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.