Luxembourg
Background information on industrial relations in Luxembourg
- 21 Oct 2011
Luxembourg: Silent protest in private bus companiesBus drivers working for Luxembourg’s private bus companies held a two-week protest in June 2011, in which they grew beards or wore green wristbands to signal their discontent with working conditions; namely long working hours and a lack of toilet facilities. The protest, called ‘Operation La BARBE!’ was intended to attract the attention of employers and the public, without disrupting bus services. It took place as negotiations on a new collective agreement were taking place.
- 21 Oct 2011
Luxembourg: Rescue plan for national trade unionIn early July 2011, the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB), one of the two representative trade unions at national level, revealed that it had debts of €1.05 million. As it is no longer able to pay its bills, cost reduction measures have become urgent and will include job and wage cuts as well as an early retirement plan for some of its staff. Two key executives have been suspended, provoking media debate about the internal cohesion of the organisation.
- 21 Oct 2011
Luxembourg: Cargolux union attacks Qatar Airways dealIn May 2011, Qatar Airways announced it intended to buy 35% of the Luxembourg air cargo company, Cargolux. The management of Cargolux was happy with the deal, but one of the country’s main trade unions, OGB-L, said it was not told about the exclusive negotiations with Qatar Airways and attacked its refusal to provide written commitments on job security, although this is not demanded by law. The union also fears the new partnership threatens Luxembourg’s social dialogue model.
- 07 Oct 2011
Luxembourg: Major reform of civil service to affect status and payOn 18 July, the trade union representing public sector workers, the General Public Sector Confederation, reached agreement with the government on two significant collective agreements. Both agreements will lead to profound changes in the status of civil servants and the way they are paid. They address the way public sector employees are trained, how they progress up the career ladder, how they are helped to address weaknesses and how their pay scale is structured.
- 30 Sep 2011
Luxembourg: New collective agreement signed in banking sectorIn October 2010, the social partners within the banking sector met to negotiate the renewal of its collective bargaining agreement. Before discussions began, employers had already announced their desire to alter dramatically some aspects of the agreement that had increasingly been taken for granted by all parties such as automatic salary increases for seniority rather than merit. Discussions were difficult and it took almost six months to conclude a new agreement.
- 26 Sep 2011
Luxembourg: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Commerce – LuxembourgThe commerce sector forms an important part of Luxembourg’s economy, accounting for about 10% of overall employment in the country. For instance, the Cactus supermarket chain is ranked second on the list of employers nationally. Although several collective bargaining agreements are concluded at company level, no agreement covers the sector as a whole. In fact, the commerce sector is characterised by its heterogeneity in terms of activities as well as strengths, weaknesses and interest groups.
- 11 Aug 2011
Luxembourg: Committee saves jobs in ArcelorMittalWith more than 6,000 employees in Luxembourg, ArcelorMittal, one of the world leaders in steel production, is also the largest private employer in the country. In February 2011, ArcelorMittal’s local management announced that more than 250 full-time jobs in the company’s Rodange and Schifflange plants were threatened following a fall in demand for steel and continued financial losses at the company. The government and trade unions mobilised quickly to find a solution.
- 01 Aug 2011
Luxembourg: Luxembourg: The representativeness of trade unions and employer associations in the banking sectorSince the mid-1990s, the number of banks in Luxembourg has declined constantly even while employment in the sector has risen. The banking sector accounts for 8% of national private sector employment and, according to government figures, five banks are listed among the 20 main employers in Luxembourg. One employer association represents up to 70% of the nation’s banks. The right to collective bargaining is divided between two nationally representative unions and one union representative at sectoral level. In the sector, sectoral collective bargaining agreements are systematically declared generally binding, ensuring a common framework for working conditions in the whole industry.
- 29 Jul 2011
Luxembourg: Luxembourg: EIRO CAR on ‘Helping young workers during the crisis: contributions by social partners and public authorities.’Young people have been adversely affected as a result of the impact of the crisis on the labour market. In response, youth employment became a subject to social dialogue at national level, and the government adopted three key measures aimed at integrating young people into the labour market. Two of these measures were adaptations of existing initiatives, specifically targeted at young people with low qualifications. A third was a new measure targeted towards young people with qualifications. In sum, these measures will actively cover about 25 per cent of all the unemployed and they have been given a positive evaluation. Initially the measures were intended to operate until the end of 2010, but they have recently been extended until the end of 2011. In addition the social partners have developed other specific initiatives for the young.
- 15 Jul 2011
Luxembourg: Government launches pension proposalLuxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden and the Minister of Social Security, Mars Di Bartolomeo, presented a plan for the reform of the state pension system on 17 March 2011. The government wants to maintain the current value of pensions by extending the period over which employees contribute. The reform, nicknamed ‘pensions à la carte’, because individuals can choose when to retire, has been criticised by employers and trade unions, although for very different reasons.
- 08 Jul 2011
Luxembourg: Collective agreement collapses in woodwork sectorNegotiations to renew the collective bargaining agreement for Luxembourg woodworkers were thrown into chaos on 22 March 2011, when the employer association pulled out. The two trade unions involved say they discovered what happened through the press. The talks had begun in January 2011 and affect 2,000 employees. Deadlock over index-linked pay lies at the heart of the disagreement, with the unions saying it is essential, and the employers refusing to make concessions.
- 22 Jun 2011
Luxembourg: ‘Time savings account’ for Luxembourg private sector workersIn December 2010, draft bill 6234 for the implementation of a ‘time savings account’ in the private sector was approved by Luxembourg’s Council of Government. Although this instrument is already familiar to Luxembourg’s social partners through collective bargaining – notably in the banking sector – its insertion into the country’s labour code will undeniably confer a new dimension to labour relations. The Chamber of Employees has already criticised the move.
- 21 Jun 2011
Luxembourg: Security firms battle over European Commission procurementOn 31 March 2011, the European Commission terminated its contract for the provision of security services in its Luxembourg premises with Luxembourg firm G4S Security Services S.A. and transferred the contract to a Belgian competitor, CobelGuard Security. What could have been an ordinary procurement matter has resulted in a difficult situation for 173 full-time workers of G4S at the EU Commission, who may have to decide whether to choose to work for CobelGuard instead.
- 15 Jun 2011
Luxembourg: Luxembourg EIRO CAR on SMEs in the crisis: Employment, Industrial Relations and Local PartnershipIn Luxembourg, Small and Medium Businesses (SMEs) have the same definition as the one provided by the European Commission (EU) in its recommendation 2003/361/EC, namely, among other things, enterprises which have less than 250 employees. In the Grand Duchy, SMEs constitute a mainstay for the national economy. Indeed, as reported in the Ministry of the Middle Classes activity report for 2009, the sector encompasses about 17,000 enterprises either craft or commercial, as well as liberal professions. About 150,000 people work in the sector, namely, 40% of the national employment. Following to these findings, supportive policies aimed at framing employment and competitiveness in SMEs have been developed over the years and increasingly upon the economic crisis.
- 14 Jun 2011
Luxembourg: Luxembourg: Representativeness study of the European social partners organisations – Public administration sectorThe public sector accounts for approximately 11% of Luxembourg’s employment. The sectoral cover is 100% for state and Communal civil staff and employees (formerly state and Communal workers). Several trade unions are involved in the sector, but the ‘sectoral’ trade unions such as the CGFP at the public service level (state) and the FGFC at the communal service level are the main ones. As far as the State and Communal employees are concerned, they are covered by collective agreements with the OGB-L as the strongest trade union. Beside the state as a public service employer, the 116 communes are represented by a single trade union, the Syvicol.
- 02 May 2011
Luxembourg: Insolvent companies remain responsible for social dialogue with employeesThe European Court of Justice has issued a decision on the Luxembourg Landsbanki redundancy case, after being addressed in May 2010 by the Luxembourg Supreme Court. Indirectly, the European judges were asked to rule on the role of social dialogue once a company liquidation has been ordered by a court. This preliminary ruling will probably require the revision of provisions on the immediate termination of employment contracts in cases of company bankruptcy.
- 21 Apr 2011
Luxembourg: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Education sector – LuxembourgThe aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the education sector in Austria. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.
- 19 Apr 2011
Luxembourg: Social dialogue under pressureLuxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker is encouraging unions and employers to get together again with the government for talks, after the failure of the 2010 tripartite spring negotiations. This failure to achieve consensus led to tensions within the government and huge demonstrations. The automatic indexation of salaries was the most contentious issue, and led to bipartite agreements with unions and employers which have, in turn, created further tensions.
- 14 Feb 2011
Luxembourg: Luxembourg: Industrial Relations in the Health Care Sector.Over the last 5 years, training and valuation of career paths in the health care sector were some of the significant challenges that social partners had to cope with. The environmental competitiveness and growing contest of certain professions urged them to reflect on the way to enhance the frame of the health care system while improving working conditions in a sector that is expected to constantly tend to the highest quality level. Consequently, social dialogue and collective bargaining gave birth to different instruments aimed at implementing a sustainable framework and, in particular, at increasing workers’ proficiency and career opportunities.
- 28 Jan 2011
Luxembourg: Single contribution rate for work accident insuranceThe introduction of a single status for all workers in the private sector in Luxembourg in January 2009 has had direct consequences on labour law and social security legislation. The financing of work accident insurance is one of the collateral questions that the legislator has had to address following the merging of blue and white-collar workers. A reform of the current framework is underway and bill 6177 was submitted for the first vote in parliament on 15 December 2010.
- 20 Jan 2011
Luxembourg: Reform of family allowances framework impacts cross-border workersIn response to changes to family allowances adopted in July 2010, trade unions in Luxembourg have accused the government of implementing measures with discriminatory effects, particularly towards cross-border workers. A large demonstration organised by five trade unions on 16 September attracted several thousand people. Two complaints against the Grand Duchy have been lodged with the European Commission, with threats of proceedings before the Luxembourg courts.
- 19 Jan 2011
Luxembourg: Luxembourg: EIRO CAR on “The effect of the Information and Consultation Directive on Industrial Relations in the EU Member States five years after its transpositionThe transposition of the Directive 2002/14/CE of 11 March 2002 in national law took place one year after the Grand Duchy was sanctioned for failing to comply with the period prescribed (see ruling C-321/06 of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the law of 9 May 2008). Actually, the legislative debate was heavily delayed by discussions on the way to match the Directive principles to the existing framework on staff representation. Furthermore, although it is quite difficult to assess its potential impacts on industrial relations, social partners seem to agree on the fact that the Directive brought no actual contribution to the previous social dialogue system.
- 11 Jan 2011
Luxembourg: Luxembourg: EIRO Annual Review - 2009The current government was formed as a result of the legislative elections of 7 June 2009. The electorate returned the 60 members of the national parliament and the six Luxembourg MEPs. There were 3 collective agreements at sectoral level and 73 collective agreements at company level signed in 2009. On 1 March 2009, salaries were index-adjusted in line with changes in prices. There was one strike in the public sector. A few large restructurings took place. The govermnent took a series of anti-crise measures among which measures for the employment of young people.