Norwegian airline, Irish wages
Danish airline personnel have say they are concerned that the airline Norwegian has registered its new Boeing 787 in Ireland, where labour legislation makes it possible for airlines to hire employees at lower wages than if the planes were registered in Norway. While Norwegian representatives said the manoeuvre would allow the low-cost airline to start flying intercontinental routes, industry analysts said it put SAS on the defensive, since the airline, which is partly owned by the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian states, has declared it would not pursue similar cost-cutting measures. – DR Nyheder
Norwegian holiday, Danish homes
Despite a ban on foreigners purchasing vacation homes in Denmark, some 800 foreigners were permitted to do so in 2012, nearly twice as many in 2011. Nearly half of those who were granted a waiver, primarily because they have familial ties to Denmark or because they work here, were Norwegians. Businesses in rural areas say they would like to see more waivers granted, particularly to Germans, who already make up a large portion of holidaymakers in the southern and western regions. – Berlingske Business
“No new immigration restrictions”
Konservative leader Lars Barfoed has pledged to vote against tightened immigration laws, should the opposition regain power in the next general election. Recent polls predict the anti-immigrant Dansk Folkeparti claiming a decisive number of seats after an election, but Barfoed said his party would not support tighter immigration regulations than the ones it helped pass when part of the governing coalition from 2001 to 2011. “We see more of a need to improve integration efforts,” Barfoed said. – Berlingske
Design theft a legal grey zone
Owners of small design labels say they are all but powerless to prevent the theft of their ideas by larger firms, thanks to high legal fees for pursuing suspected copyright infringement. The area, say lawyers, is a legal grey zone, and the difficulty of proving their cases prevents many designers from ever pursuing legal action, despite obvious copying. Instead, designers often choose to settle out of court. – Politiken
Still Olsen's 11
?National football coach Morten Olsen yesterday further stoked speculation about whether he will step down before his contract ends in September 2014 – if he steps down at all. Calls for Olsen's dismissal began to mount in June after Denmark suffered an embarrassing 0-4 loss to Armenia that all but ended their hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Meeting the press for the first time since the loss, Olsen said on Tuesday that his primary focus was on the remaining qualifiers. He indicated, however, that he was due to meet with the head of the Danish Football Association in November to discuss the future of the team.
