Thousands of people gathered in Copenhagen on Sunday to protest a bill put forward by the government to a ban on a public holiday to help finance defence spending.
The demonstration was organized by the country's biggest labour unions, which opposes the reversal of the Great Prayer Day, a Christian holiday that falls on the fourth Friday after Easter and dates back to 1686.
The protesters estimated at least 50,000 people took part, making it Denmark's biggest demonstration in more than a decade. The local police don't give crowd estimates.
In December, the holiday abolition was proposed to help raise tax revenues for higher defence spending in the wake of the Ukraine war, and is part of the government's sweeping reform programme aimed at overcoming challenges to the country's welfare model.
The government proposed moving forward by three years to 2030 to meet a NATO defence spending target of 2 per cent of GDP. The tax revenues it anticipates from abolishing the holiday could be used to cover the extra 4.5 billion Danish crowns US $654 million needed to meet the target.
The effects of the proposal have been questioned by unions, opposition lawmakers and economists. Some economists said it is unlikely that it will have long-lasting effects, as workers would find other ways to adjust their working hours.
In the Danish labour market, pay and working hours are regulated by collective agreements between highly organized worker and employer groups without any intervention from the state.
The government, which holds a slim majority in parliament, says it intends to push the Bill through regardless of opposition.
These things are usually discussed with the working people, but this model is about to be overruled. Stig De Blanck, 63, who was demonstrating in front of parliament, said we are protesting to make them listen.
According to the data from the OECD, Danes work less hours than most countries in Europe.