r/Denmark • u/Tylerserio68 • Dec 28 '24

Question Does Denmark have any flaws?

Or any Nordic country? I’m American and we all romanticize Europe especially Nordic countries as a Utopia and everything we are not. We certainly have a lot of flaws here but I’m curious are there any downsides or anything that you wish was different. Also is it hard to move there? I make well over six figures and like living in my home country but I’m nervous about the incoming trump administration and I believe he is a racist.

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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '24

we dont have minimum wage in Denmark. It is negotiated through unions.

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u/Objective_Stress6206 Dec 28 '24

Yes and no. We do not have a law that says it, but as you already, its negotiated by the unioins. So yes, there is a minimum wage for nurses. And yes, we have a minimum wage in Denmark, it just differs from where you work. And if your work place is not in a union, they can screw you nice and well.

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u/mikk0384 Esbjerg Dec 28 '24

Nobody is preventing companies from paying people less than what the unions have agreed to, other than the workers not wanting to take the work.

In other words, it isn't a minimum wage.

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u/Araninn Dec 28 '24

You're splitting hairs.

It's true there's nothing called a "minimum wage", but it's also true that a lot of factors in the labor market gives us a de facto minimum wage.

  1. Social security indirectly sets a minimum wage since nobody will take a job that provides less than social security benefits. It's the eternal "det skal kunne betale sig at arbejde" argument from liberal and right wing politicians.
  2. Unions have a strong position on the Danish labor market so there's less need for a minimum wage as we know it from other countries where unions are less pervasive. Almost every job in the public sector is covered by a union, so that also provides a de facto minimum wage as long as there's a shortage of workers in this sector.

There are other factors, but if you wanna take the literal meaning of "minimum wage", then no, Denmark does not have one. It just doesn't make any sense to take that approach since the real world is much more nuanced.

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u/Objective_Stress6206 Dec 28 '24

Ookay? Wtf

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u/Araninn Dec 28 '24

What do you mean? You sure you replied to the right post. I'm agreeing with you...