The Union of Salaried Architects (ARKITEKTFORBUNDET) is the trade union for academic architects (cand. arch.) and one of the trade unions in the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (the AC).
ARKITEKTFORBUNDET safeguards the interests of both unemployed and employed architects. ARKITEKTFORBUNDET collaborates with the Danske ARK, which is the employers' association for drawing offices, and the Academic Association of Architects (AA), which works to increase the quality of planning and the design of our physical surroundings.
ARKITEKTFORBUNDET safeguards the interests of members at the collective and individual levels in connection with collective bargaining conditions, salaried employee legislation, labour market and industrial policy, and educational policy.
In the public authority area ARKITEKTFORBUNDET enters into agreements through the AC, and enters into similar agreements in the private sphere, also with drawing offices organised under Danske ARK.
ARKITEKTFORBUNDET provides an extensive individual service for members which is goal-oriented towards the individual member. Among other areas ARKITEKTFORBUNDET provides advice in connection with employment and dismissal, as well as salary negotiations and working conditions at the individual workplace. In connection with cases where members are involved in more serious matters ARKITEKTFORBUNDET also places a solicitor at the disposal of members to provide them with legal advice.
ARKITEKTFORBUNDET also provides members who have problems connected with their union insurance systems with advice and support.
Over and above this ARKITEKTFORBUNDET is active in a wide range of areas, both centrally and locally, in order to improve conditions and employment opportunities for unemployed members to the greatest extent possible. ARKITEKTFORBUNDET has employee elected shop stewards at numerous public and private workplaces throughout Denmark.
ARKITEKTFORBUNDET is active in the development of educational programmes so that these at all times meet the demands and expectations of society and the labour market on the professional competence of architects. ARKITEKTFORBUNDET strives to ensure that there are supplementary and further training schemes designed to qualify members to perform their own jobs to the optimum. ARKITEKTFORBUNDET also works on an ongoing basis to develop new areas of employment for architects.
As the most important element for members on a daily basis ARKITEKTFORBUNDET operates professional secretariats in Copenhagen and Aarhus which handle practical matters. Members can at all times contact staff here to obtain qualified advice and support. The secretariats also provide members with an influential negotiating instance in relation to the individual workplace.
The political structure of ARKITEKTFORBUNDET consists of committees involved in a large number of areas where it is possible for members to have a direct influence on events.
As a modern service and interest organisation ARKITEKTFORBUNDET concentrates on effective, quality-oriented service for members and a high degree of democracy in order to ensure the individual member optimum influence.
