The action plan against repetitive work— An industrial relation strategy for improving the working environment

The Danish Action Plan against Repetitive Work is presented and discussed as a possible new strategy for regulating repetitive work as well as other complicated working environment problems. The article is based on an empirical evaluation of the Action Plan. The assessment of the Action Plan indicates that a measurable reduction of repetitive work has been achieved, while recognizing that new management strategies focusing on human resource development have also played an important role. These results are used to suggest that—under certain conditions—a combination of state regulation and industrial relation agreements can be used to regulate other working environment problems.