The Fehmarnbelt project construction site, with its tunnel factory, tunnel portals, working harbour and land reclamation, is Northern Europe's largest construction site. Building the tunnel requires many employees in a variety of professions.
Several thousand employees are directly involved in the project for a number of years while tunnel construction is at its peak. In addition, there will be at least as many employees outside the construction site with jobs at subcontractors.
The main contractors are responsible for ensuring that both they and their subcontractors comply with Sund & Bælt’s requirements for fair conditions during the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel.
Sund & Bælt collaborates with authorities in Denmark and Germany, as well as contractors and trade organisations, to ensure fair working conditions for employees on the project.
A large proportion of the tunnel construction workers live abroad and are therefore unable to commute between their homes and their workplace. To ensure that the workers have proper accommodation, the contractor has established a large tunnel village – FLC Village – next to the construction site in Rødbyhavn.
The tunnel village can accommodate 1,344 residents, who have their own room with internet access, bathroom and toilet, as well as cleaning and laundry services for their work clothes. The tunnel village's canteens serve daily meals for residents, and there is a wide range of facilities such as a fitness room, TV rooms, a grocery store, a hairdresser, a pool and table tennis room, and an outdoor barbecue area.
If employees wish to live outside the tunnel village, Sund & Bælt and the contractor FLC check that these homes meet requirements for size, internet access, toilet facilities and other amenities.
Sund & Bælt has included clauses on pay and working conditions in all relevant contracts on both the Danish and German sides. This means that all contractors on the Danish side must comply with standards equivalent to representative collective agreements. This includes, for example, minimum wages, overtime pay, holiday pay, working hours, pensions, etc.
On the German side, all contractors must comply with the minimum wage and working time regulations set out in German law. Sund & Bælt has included clauses on pay and working conditions in all relevant contracts on both the Danish and German sides. This means that all contractors on the Danish side must comply with standards equivalent to representative collective agreements. This includes, for example, minimum wages, overtime pay, holiday pay, working hours, pensions, etc.
On the German side, all contractors must comply with the minimum wage and working time regulations set out in German law.
The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is a major workplace, particularly during the construction phase, but also post-opening for those who will operate and maintain the fixed link. The project contributes to creating internship opportunities for apprentices, trainees, and office students.
To ensure continued great focus on working environment as well as pay and working conditions on the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel, Sund & Bælt has established an authority centre at the construction site.
The center provides the various authorities that carry out inspections on the construction site with a better framework for carrying out their work.
