After nearly six days of final negotiations, the parties have reached a new three-year agreement for state employees in Denmark. The agreement, called OK26, covers approximately 200,000 employees and has been concluded between the state's employers and the trade unions. Among other things, 275 million Danish kroner are allocated for employees within the Danish Defence (Forsvaret).
The agreement entails general salary increases totalling 6.8 percent over the three-year contract period. When the value of pensions, holidays, and other contractual elements are included, the total economic framework amounts to approximately 8.7 percent. According to the parties, the agreement is expected to provide an improved real wage for the employees.
One of the most debated issues during the negotiations has been the salaries of military personnel. The agreement allocates a special salary pool of 275 million Danish kroner for soldiers' wages. The funds will be distributed among the trade unions Hærens Konstabel- og Korporalforening (HKKF), Centralforeningen for Stampersonel (CS), and Hovedorganisationen af Officerer i Danmark (HOD), who will now begin negotiations with the Personnel Command (Personelkommandoen, PKOM) on the specific distribution.
Denmark's Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister Troels Lund Poulsen comments on the agreement on X:
– Today is a good day for those who form the backbone of our defence. There is a need for our soldiers to have stronger incentives to remain in the Defence for several years and further develop their skills. The details will now be negotiated locally, but the funds are there for an uplift. It is both reasonable and necessary for a strong Danish Defence.
The initiative corresponds to an average annual salary increase of between 2.6 percent for officers and 4.5 percent for privates and corporals, in addition to the general salary increases in OK26. For the officers' group, the agreement means a pool of just over 70 million kroner, according to HOD.
The distribution has been adjusted to create a more even allocation among different personnel groups within the Defence, based on the number of full-time positions. In the coming weeks, the military organisations will continue negotiations on how the funds will be implemented in practice, based on the previously conducted salary analysis for the Defence.
HKKF also points out that the retirement age will not change with the new agreement, which they describe as an important issue in the negotiations.
If the agreement is approved, it will regulate salaries and conditions for state employees in Denmark over the next three years.