Joint trade union structure created in private sector transport

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In October 1999, Luxembourg's OGB-L trade union confederation and the FNCTTFEL transport workers' union set up a largely autonomous joint union structure, designed to address more efficiently problems encountered in private sector transport.

On 21 October 1999, the Luxembourg Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (Onofhängege Gewerkschafts-Bond Lëtzebuerg, OGB-L) and the National Federation of Luxembourg Railway and Transport Workers and Civil Servants (Fédération nationale des cheminots, travailleurs du transport, fonctionnaires et employés Luxembourg, FNCTTFEL ) announced the creation of a unified union structure in private sector transport, covering road, river, sea and air transport. It is called "OGBL-FNCTTFEL Transport", and has about 2,300 members.

This new structure has been presented as a "model" in the sense that both union organisations involved have jointly shed some of their independence in order to give their members assistance when problems arise in the course of their employment. In future, the structure will largely operate independently: its aim will be to bring the employment status of employees in the private sector closer to that of civil servants and public sector white-collar workers.

Initially, the new organisation's focus will be on: problems caused by so-called "letter-box companies", which have only addresses in Luxembourg (see below); increasing "false self-employment" among drivers; and ignorance of statutory working time rules.

According to figures released by the new trade union structure, Luxembourg has approximately 400 transport companies, only 70 of which operate on Luxembourg soil. It is claimed that it is up to the government to deal effectively with this phenomenon, which produces "fictitious employees" and whose only impact is to impose additional charges on various social security funds.

Other priorities of the new structure include implementation of the decision of the tripartite committee on the bus sector which, after many years of negotiations, has adopted a government proposal that reduces the maximum daily working hours of private-sector bus drivers from 12 to 11 (LU9807169N), and introduces a weekly maximum of 48 hours for all professional drivers in the private sector.