Government to force the unemployed to seek jobs across Denmark

Venstre wants people to relocate to other parts of the country if they can get a job there

The government is proposing the unemployed look for work across the country and relocate if it would help them get a job, reports TV2.

Venstre suggests changing the current rules that only require the unemployed to seek jobs within a three-hour radius from their home. Instead, the party would like to see them look for work further afield if necessary.

READ MORE: Activation job workers asked to clean private vehicles

To ensure economic growth
It is crucial that companies can get the manpower they need. It is a prerequisite for ensuring future growth and prosperity,” Jørn Neergaard Larsen, the employment minister, wrote to TV2.

We can see there are industries and places in the country where companies have difficulties finding employees, and we want to do something to prevent bottlenecks from slowing down growth.”

READ MORE: Danish government announces reform of benefits: It should pay to work

Not a human rights violation
Laura Lindahl, the employment spokesperson for Liberal Alliance, said the party fully supports the government’s proposal.

It is not a human right to live at a particular place and receive social benefits at the same time,” Lindahl told TV2.

READ MORE: More than 50,000 have now lost their insured unemployment benefits

Totally unacceptable
However, both Enhedslisten and SF resolutely oppose the idea.

“Quite frankly it’s incredulous of the government to come up with such a suggestion,” Finn Sørensen, the employment spokesperson for Enhedslisten, told TV2.

“They have just totally changed the system with their unemployment benefits reform, which has resulted in a number of impairments, and now they want even more. I hope that LO [the Danish confederation of trade unions] will say a resolute no to these demands for further deterioration.”




  • World Cup in Ice Hockey will face off in Herning

    World Cup in Ice Hockey will face off in Herning

    As in 2018, Denmark will co-host the Ice Hockey World Championship. And once again, Herning and Jyske Bank Boxen will be the hosts. Denmark is in Pool B and starts tonight with a match against the USA, which, given the political tensions between the two countries, may be an icy affair.

  • Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    A Wall Street Journal article describes that the US will now begin spying in Greenland. This worries the Danish foreign minister, who wants an explanation from the US’s leading diplomat. Greenlandic politicians think that Trump’s actions increase the sense of insecurity

  • Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    What do King Frederik X, Queen Mary, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Jaime Lannister have in common? No, this isn’t the start of a very specific Shakespeare-meets-HBO fanfiction — it was just Wednesday night in Denmark

  • Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    For many years, most young people in Denmark have preferred upper secondary school (Gymnasium). Approximately 20 percent of a year group chooses a vocational education. Four out of 10 young people drop out of a vocational education. A bunch of millions aims to change that

  • Beloved culture house saved from closure

    Beloved culture house saved from closure

    At the beginning of April, it was reported that Kapelvej 44, a popular community house situated in Nørrebro, was at risk of closing due to a loss of municipality funding

  • Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    With reforms to tighten the rules for foreigners in Denmark without legal residency, and the approval of a reception package for internationals working in the care sector, internationals have been under the spotlight this week. Mette Frederiksen spoke about both reforms yesterday.

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.