In comments made in parliament on Tuesday, Frederiksen said that, although foreign labour is a crucial driver of Denmark’s ongoing economic growth, immigration must still be strictly limited.
“Of course it’s positive that people want to contribute to Denmark, but when it comes to foreign labour, numbers matter, especially those from North Africa and the Middle East,” the prime minister said.
The PM went as far as to say Denmark will be “tightening the rules” on the issue.
She didn’t give specifics on this but said that the objective of stricter rules would be “a clear link between how many [foreign workers] we need and how many actually come.”
She also said she favoured foreign workers from countries “like-minded” to Denmark.
“In future, we believe we should focus more on countries with which we share mutual interests and trade relationships when it comes to foreign labour,” she said.
Given the increasingly important role played by foreign labour in the Danish economy, and repeated calls from major business organisations to expand the foreign workforce, Frederiksen’s comments could be considered surprising.
The numbers back up the need for foreign labour, which contributed 361 billion kroner to the country’s GDP last year according to figures from the Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv). That equates to around 12 percent of the total GDP in 2024.
The organisation also highlighted the ongoing need for foreign labour, saying the amount of labour supply from within Denmark will be demographically limited in the coming years.
There is “limited potential for further growth in employment among Danes already living in the country, as the domestic labour reserve is nearly depleted,” the Chamber of Commerce said in a statement last month.
In contrast to Frederiksen’s view, the organisation said Denmark needs to broaden its horizons when looking for a supply of international labour.
“We’re heading into a period of demographic headwinds [in Denmark, ed.], which means businesses will increasingly need to look abroad when recruiting new employees,” director Morten Langager said in the statement.
“By 2050, there will be 45 million fewer people aged 20 to 64 in the EU workforce. So there will be fierce competition for skilled hands and bright minds. That’s why it’s absolutely crucial that Denmark improves its access to international labour,” he said.
The comments by Frederiksen on Tuesday also seem to put her somewhat at odds with the views of the two other parties in the coalition government, the Moderates and the Liberals.
The Moderates in particular have long advocated more favourable laws for foreign recruitment, such as work permit schemes.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who is leader of the Moderate party, said in 2023 that Danish businesses should be allowed to freely hire international staff, provided they comply with trade union agreements.
However, the PM’s comments should be viewed through the lens of her party’s position on immigration, rather than overall government policy.
The Social Democrats, despite being the only “red bloc” or left of centre party in the coalition, have the most skeptical views on immigration, including labour immigration, of the three parties.
The party’s employment minister, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, has said in the past that she is against allowing more foreign labour in Denmark, arguing it could have a negative impact on society.
“As a government we must have an eye on everything. The question I have to ask myself as minister, which individual employers don’t ask themselves is, that if they get those workers, let’s say from an African country, what does that mean for the cohesive force [of society],” the minister said in a 2023 interview with newspaper Politiken.
In general, the Social Democrats under Frederiksen have a longstanding platform of being tough on immigration. The policy has seen them elected twice, in 2019 and 2022.
With that in mind, it’s less surprising that Frederiksen is making comments which appear hostile towards foreign labour, at a time when the government has faced criticism from right wing parties over the rising number of immigrants from so-called “Menapt” countries, an acronym that covers the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey.
Her statements also come as plans to attract more foreign healthcare workers from India and the Philippines are beginning to take form.
A deal to bring in labour from the two Asian countries for Denmark’s health and social care sector has been agreed to address a potential shortage of up to 15,000 staff in the sector within the next ten years.
Whether the Social Democrats will work against similar deals in future, or how they might otherwise put Frederiksen’s comments into policy, will be shown in time.
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