Minister wants bad immigrant parents punished
The integration minister, Karen Hækkerup (Socialdemokraterne), wants to do away with the complacency of immigrant parents who do not ensure that their children go to school or stay away from crime. Hækkerup argued that councils should consider cutting the social benefits of bad parents while also helping vulnerable ethnic families via parenting programmes. Left wing party Enhedslisten has blasted the proposal. – Berlingske
Krag won’t force doctors’ hands
The day before she unveils a new law proposal on the modernisation of the general practitioner (GP) sector, the health minister, Astrid Krag (Socialistisk Folkeparti), revealed that GPs will not be controlled by the Health Ministry or parliament, as had been suggested in early May, prompting GPs to threaten to leave the health service. – Jyllands-Posten
Government pays another Rejsekort bill
The government has agreed to pay the traffic company Arriva 111.2 million kroner for implementing the Rejsekort travel system in Jutland. Arriva estimated that the rental and maintenance of equipment will cost 67 million kroner between 2012 and 2018. National rail operator DSB recently revealed that the Rejsekort scheme has cost them two billion kroner so far. – Ingeniøren
Big unions haemorrhaging members
The four largest unions in the country have been losing members since the Danish economy began feeling the economic crisis in earnest back in 2008. New figures from Statistics Denmark showed that the four biggest unions – 3F, FOA, Dansk Metal and HK – lost a combined 134,433 members, while smaller unions like Krifa and ASE managed to gain members. – Ekstra Bladet
Danes wait long for foreign films
Moviegoers in Denmark generally have to wait much longer to see a premiere of a foreign film than their Scandinavian neighbours. On average, foreign films make their Danish debuts 98 days after the official global premiere, compared with 64 days in Sweden and 58 days in Norway, according to a survey done by DR Kultur. – DR News
Ecco in Russian law dilemma
The Danish shoe company Ecco has been rocked by a new law in Russia that will force the company to make expensive changes and produce a whole new line of children’s shoes for the Russian market. The new law in Russia, Ecco’s third largest market, stipulates that children’s shoes must not contain any synthetic material as of July 1. – Børsen
Majka finishes in seventh
The Giro d’Italia ended up as a mixed bag of nuts for Team Saxo-Tinkoff after the riders crossed the finish line for the last time in Brescia yesterday. The Danish team failed to win a stage, which was one of their goals, but young Pole Rafal Majak finished in a very respectable seventh place in the overall standings, just 41 seconds from securing the young riders’ trophy. – Cykelmagasinet
