AmCham News No 51 Tom2 - American Chamber of Commerce in ...

Chamber News
Labor White Paper Presented to Minister of Employment
AmCham executives hosted an executive
roundtable session with the
Danish Minister for Employment
Claus Hjort Frederiksen and members
of his team. The main purpose of the
March 4 meeting was to discuss
AmCham's recommendations on
how to alleviate the shortage of highly
qualified labor and to hear about
the government’s new Job Plan.
“It is not simply an issue of barriers to
get foreign workers into Denmark,
but an issue of the attractiveness of
Denmark as a destination for highly
qualified workers - ranked 22nd in
the most recent IMD survey,” said
Brugger.
- 6 - AmCham Business News April 2008
Participants from AmCham member
companies acknowledged the
positive steps in the new Job Plan,
mostly in line with AmCham’s recommendations,
but stressed the
need for a long term strategy on
education and tax to ensure a supply
of highly qualified labor in the
future.
In response to the persistent labor
shortage faced by both foreign and
domestic companies, the Minister
Frederiksen said that 2007 was a turning
point in the mentality of Danes
towards foreign recruitment. The
political tide has changed, making it
easier to handle labor issues. The
Roundtable
Participants (clockwise
from left):
Bill Allen, Niels
Christian Furu,
Mark Luscombe;
Scott Dille, Rikke
Maria Harhoff,
Minister for
Employment Claus
Hjort Frederiksen,
and Søren Møller
Andersen.
result is the new Job Plan. The
Minister highlighted the key changes:
an easier to use Green Card, a market
based Positive List that tracks professions
in demand, a corporate visa program
to approve companies to bring
in the skills they need, and a more
attractive expatriate tax program.
In response to a long term strategy
to supply highly qualified labor, the
Minister said that a labor market
commission, as well as a tax commission,
has been created. Both
commissions will present structural
recommendations in 2009 that are
aimed at better aligning Denmark
with the trends of globalization.
Roundtable Meetings Target Issues Impacting Business
With the launch of AmCham's White Paper, focused on solutions to the
shortage of highly qualified labor, AmCham has arranged a series of roundtable
meeting with key governmental decision makers. Having already met
with the Minister for Employment and representatives from the Immigration
& Integration Ministry, AmCham will continue to voice our member's concerns
and the issues impacting their businesses with follow-up meetings at
the Immigration & Integration Ministry, with the Minister for Taxation, and
with the Ministry for Health & Prevention. If your company has issues, let us
know by calling AmCham at 33 932 932.