No claim to negotiate collective agreement

Case no. 249/2011
Judgment delivered on 9 September 2013.

FLD (Foreningen af Ledere ved Danskuddannelser)
vs.
LGDK (Local Government Denmark)

FLD is a trade union with 35 members employed by municipalities, practically all of whom on a contract basis, which wanted to enter into a special agreement with LGDK. LGDK refused the request, citing, e.g. that the area was already covered by an agreement with the Confederation of Teachers Unions and that LGDK to ensure clarity and simplify the administration of collective agreements as far as possible did not want to conclude parallel agreements.

The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court that LGDK had not disregarded the general principles of public administration law, as the parallel agreement that LGDK had concluded with another minor union according to the information provided was primarily caused by LGDK's special obligation in relation to tenured employees.

As it is possible for the union to take care of its members' interests in a number of areas in general as well as in individual cases, and as the union represents a small number of employees, LGDK had furthermore not disregarded the obligations under Article 11 of the European Human Rights Convention on the freedom of assembly and association, including as compared to Article 14 on discrimination.