Unions meet government over pensions restructuring

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In November 1998, an initial meeting between the Luxembourg government and seven trade unions which are calling for a restructuring of the pensions system agreed that the issue will be presented to a tripartite meeting in February-March 1999. The government's plan to introduce an "occupational disability" pension has been shelved.

In October 1998, seven leading private sector trade unions organised a joint platform and submitted a set of demands on a restructuring of the pensions system to the government (LU9811175F). The unions argued that convergence between the public sector and private sector pension schemes must not be achieved by reducing the value of the former, but by uprating the latter. They thus seek structural improvements in the general private sector pension insurance scheme

The seven unions had an initial interview with the government on 9 November 1998. The Prime Minister stated that this was not a negotiating meeting, but rather one that focused on "information exchange". He also stressed that the government's programme did not include any structural reform of private sector pensions. However, it was agreed that the whole question of pensions would be examined at a tripartite meeting in February-March 1999, as this is a subject that necessarily involves employers' representatives.

The trade unions registered an early success at a subsequent meeting with the Minister for Social Security on 26 November. The government had previously proposed the introduction of an "occupational disability" (invalidité professionnelle) pension for people covered by pensions insurance whose earning capacity has been cut by over 50% (LU9711121F). This scheme, along with a new "general disability" pension for employees who are no longer able to do their job at all, would have replaced the existing single full-disability pension scheme. The proposal has now been abandoned by the government once and for all, following long-standing criticism from the trade unions that very few employers are prepared to hire employees who have only half work capacity, given the current climate in the labour market.

The seven unions involved in the joint platform are: the Luxembourg Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (Onofhängege Gewerkschafts-Bond Lëtzebuerg, OGB-L); the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Lëtzebuerger Chrëschtleche Gewerkschafts-Bond, LCGB); the non-aligned craftworkers' union, Neutral Gewerkschaft Lëtzebuerg (NGL); the Confederation of Private Sector White-Collar Employees (Confédération des Employés Privés, CEP); the Luxembourg Printing Workers' Federation (Fédération Luxembourgeoise des Travailleurs du Livre, FLTL); the National Federation of Railway and Transport Workers (Fédération Nationale des Cheminots, Travailleurs du Transport, Fonctionnaires et Employés Luxembourgeois, FNCTTFEL); and the Christian Transport Workers' Federation (Fédération Chrétienne du Personnel du Transport, FCPT).