News
Today’s front pages – Friday, Feb 15
This article is more than 11 years old.
The Copenhagen Post’s daily digest of what the Danish dailies are reporting on their front pages
Get a job and earn less
Unemployment benefit rules mean that many unemployed individuals turn down low-paying jobs. Several temp agencies report that unemployed individuals will not take a job paying around 120 kroner an hour, citing that it would lower their future unemployment insurance (dagpenge) payments. A crunching of the numbers reveals that if an unemployed individual who earns 17,355 kroner a month on dagpenge accepts a job for 120 kroner per hour, the individual’s dagpenge amount will drop to 15,930 kroner per month should he/she lose their job the following year. The association of unemployment insurers, A-kassernes Samvirke, said that a person must earn at least 130.72 kroner per hour to keep their benefits at the same level. – Jyllands-Posten
Law aimed at imams only affecting Christians
Changes to immigration rules adopted in 2010 that made foreign preachers pass a Danish test, Danskprøve, were designed to keep out extremist imams but are only affecting Christians and Mormons. According to information from Udlændingestyrelsen, of the 80 foreign religious leaders who have taken the test since 2010, half of them are Christian and the other half are Mormon. Imams from Muslim countries are managing to avoid the test because they typically arrive to Denmark as refugees or via family reunification. – Kristeligt Dagblad
Illegal children remain in Denmark without rights
Numerous children who have been rejected residency in Denmark continue to remain in the country without basic rights. Lawyer Anders Christian Jensen represents at least 50 children in the capital region who live and go to school in Denmark but do not have a CPR number or health insurance, which means they are unable to see a dentist or doctor. The aid organisation Red Barnet contends that the situation is untenable and against UN conventions. – Politiken
Stockholders raking it in
Stockholders in the nine largest Danish businesses will receive returns to the 41 billion kroner this year, according to Berlingske newspaper. The numbers represent the highest ever and come in the midst of the ongoing financial crisis. Experts said that one of the reasons was that high unemployment levels in many countries are pushing down wages, which is a massive cost for many businesses. Another factor is that while the government and individual households are forced to make spending cuts due to incurred debt, businesses are enjoying record-setting profits, low debt and considerable savings. It is not only large Danish companies enjoying success. The trend is the same in the US and the EU. – Berlingske