In October 2000, following an appeal initiated by the ALEBA bank workers' trade union against the Minister of Labour, Luxembourg's Administrative Tribunal awarded the union "nationally representative" status, thus allowing it to conclude collective agreements. This decision ignores earlier case law
In early November 2000, doctors and dentists in Luxembourg went on strike in protest at a government plan to increase their contribution to the financial equilibrium of the sickness insurance scheme.
In October 2000, Clearstream, a Luxembourg-based finance group, attracted severe criticism from the OGB-L trade union confederation over its employee representation arrangements. The company is accused of "interfering" with the operation of the law on employee committees and joint company councils.
The formation was announced in October 2000 of a new employers' structure in Luxembourg. The Union of Luxembourg Enterprises (UEL) brings together organisations representing 34,000 enterprises with 200,000 workers, accounting for 85% of GDP. It aims to act as an "influential new partner in the
Following the announcement of the closure of the Thomas & Betts' electronics plant in Luxembourg, which has been taken over by the Tyco Electronics Corporation, management and trade unions negotiated a social plan in September 2000, whereby employees will receive compensation amounting to an average
In September 2000, the Luxembourg government announced a tax reform that will substantially reduce the tax paid by households from 1 January 2001. As a result, Luxembourg will, it is claimed, have the EU's lowest maximum rate of income tax from 2002 onwards. The trade unions have criticised the
Talks over a new collective agreement for the Luxembourg vehicle-maintenance sector stalled in June 1999. In summer 2000, they resumed following the employers' decision to drop their demand for greater working time flexibility. However, agreement has once again been blocked by the trade unions'
A new pay agreement was signed in the Luxembourg civil service in late May 2000. It provides for pay increases of almost 6% over two years and introduces part-time working in the civil service. The outcome could have repercussions for pay bargaining in the private sector, with many seeing it as
Following lengthy negotiations, and with a strike looming, a new collective agreement was signed for Luxembourg's building sector in June 2000. The deal disregards the opportunities for working time flexibility opened up by legislation adopted in 1999, and limits its scope to modest pay rises.
Luxembourg's Tripartite Coordination Committee has been seeking to draw up a National Action Plan (NAP) for employment, in response to the EU Employment Guidelines for 2000. However, following persistently divergent interpretations of the existing NAP's provisions on working time organisation, in