Defeat for ALEBA at BGL-Fortis employee committee elections
Published: 12 March 2003
Elections of representatives on the employee committee at BGL-Fortis, one of Luxembourg's largest banks, were held in February 2003. The new poll was called following the defection of members of the ALEBA banking trade union to the newly formed SESF finance section of the LCGB confederation. The election resulted in losses for ALEBA and gains for SESF-LCGB and OGB-L.
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Elections of representatives on the employee committee at BGL-Fortis, one of Luxembourg's largest banks, were held in February 2003. The new poll was called following the defection of members of the ALEBA banking trade union to the newly formed SESF finance section of the LCGB confederation. The election resulted in losses for ALEBA and gains for SESF-LCGB and OGB-L.
In July 2002, a new two-year collective agreement for the Luxembourg banking sector was signed (LU0208101N) by a single trade union, the Luxembourg Association of Bank Staff (Association luxembourgeoise des employés de banque, ALEBA), which had recently been deemed 'nationally representative'- and thus able to conclude agreements - following a ruling by the administrative courts (LU0011152F). The fact that ALEBA signed the agreement alone provoked protests from the other two nationally representative trade union organisations, the Luxembourg Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (Onofhängege Gewerkschafts-Bond Lëtzebuerg, OGB-L) and the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Lëtzebuerger Chrëschtleche Gewerkschafts-Bond, LCGB).
It appears that ALEBA's unilateral action did not go down well with some of its membership, and in October 2002 a large number of members at Banque générale du Luxembourg (BGL)-Fortis– one of the largest banks in the Luxembourg financial market and, with a workforce of 2,600, one of the country's major employers – left the union. This group then set up a new autonomous organisation, and on 26 November 2002, they were taken into membership by a new structure, the Finance Sector Employees’ Union, (Syndicat des employés du secteur financier, SESF), within LCGB.
When all of the ALEBA’s former members on the BGL-Fortis employee committee resigned and subsequently joined SESF-LCGB, the Minister of Labour had fresh elections organised at the company. There was considerable interest in these 'social elections' at BGL-Fortis, held on 12 February 2003, because: they represented an opportunity to 'take the temperature' nine months before general nationwide elections of employee representatives on a variety of bodies (LU9810172F); and they allowed an assessment of the consequences of the mass resignation of the committee members who had been elected as ALEBA representatives, but had now moved over to LCGB.
In the BGL-Fortis employee committee election, a turn-out of 75.87% gave: OGB-L nine seats with 47.26% of the vote (a strengthening of its position); SESF-LCGB seven seats with 40.26% of the vote (up from the previous one seat for LCGB); and ALEBA two seats with only 12.46% of the vote (a fall in support).
Despite ALEBA’s poor showing, the union’s spokesperson stated that it was not a surprise, and claimed that 'it is time for all the trade unions to reidentify their common concerns and throw all their energies into defending workers.' OGB-L said that it 'had won a historic victory, and that it is necessary to analyse the figures and negotiate a coalition' on the employee committee. Senior officials of SESF-LCGB were also delighted with the results, and at the same time expressed a desire to remain in opposition on the BGL-Fortis committee.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2003), Defeat for ALEBA at BGL-Fortis employee committee elections, article.
