Clear yes to OK26 from IDA's members

IDA members working in municipalities, regions and the state sector have now voted on the OK26 agreements, and the answer is clear. A significant majority of the votes cast have landed on a “yes”.

Overall, 94 per cent voted yes, 6 per cent voted no, and voter turnout amounted to 39.5 per cent.

Malene Matthison-Hansen, political chief negotiator for OK26 and Chair of the Council of Employees at IDA, is pleased with the result and the support shown by members.

“I am truly delighted by the members’ support for the agreements we have secured. Ahead of the negotiations, we made a point of asking members what mattered most to them. The answer was clear: pay, greater say in working life, and a flexible pay account. We have now secured some good agreements, and the support from our members shows that we have delivered on the challenges they face in their day-to-day work in municipalities, regions and the state,” she says.

Malene Matthison-Hansen in particular sees significant future potential in the flexible pay scheme. The scheme can be expanded further in the next round of collective bargaining, so that it increasingly accommodates the individual employee’s wishes and needs.

In short, the flexible pay scheme functions as a form of savings, where the employer makes ongoing contributions calculated as a percentage of the pensionable salary. Employees themselves decide how the funds are to be used – for example as additional pay, as extra pension contributions, or as payment during periods of leave.

Malene Matthison-Hansen is pleased that public-sector workplaces are not falling further behind the private labour market.

“It is important for all of us that public-sector workplaces can offer good employment conditions, ensuring that we can also attract skilled engineers and other STEM graduates in the future. These are the people who must ensure that new technology is implemented appropriately in the public sector, that we succeed with the green transition, that we are able to handle cyberattacks on our infrastructure, and who will carry out vital basic research and educate future knowledge workers at universities and other educational institutions,” she says.

As a consequence of the general election, the outcome in the state sector will not be submitted to the Agency for Governmental Human Resources and Competence until 6 May, even though the voting result has now been published. This may lead to delays in the implementation of the central government agreement. However, all elements will be implemented with retroactive effect.

IDA has more than 19,000 members working in the state, regionals or municipalities.

A total of 7,633 votes were cast, corresponding to a voter turnout of 39.5 per cent.

Among the votes cast, the distribution was as follows:

Yes: 94 per cent (7,201 votes)

No: 6 per cent (432 votes)