First collective agreements for temporary agency staff

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The conclusion in May 1998 of two collective agreements covering temporary agency workers and the permanent direct staff of temporary work agencies marked the final stage in the introduction of this "atypical" form of employment into Luxembourg.

In Luxembourg, temporary agency work ("temping") has operated on a statutory basis only since legislation was passed on 19 May 1994. This late development may be linked to the fact that Luxembourg has the lowest unemployment in the European Union. At the time, legalising this form of "atypical" employment was not welcomed enthusiastically among organisations representing employees.

In 1994, temporary work agencies operating in Luxembourg set up an umbrella body, the Union of Temporary Employment Agencies (Union luxembourgeoise des entreprises de travail intérimaires, ULEDI), which now groups 17 of the 26 existing agencies. An initial stage in the "integration" of these agencies in Luxembourg was the "cooperation contract" to help unemployed people return to the labour market, signed in December 1997 with the Employment Administration (Administration de l'Emploi, ADEM) (LU9801140N).

Two collective agreements covering the temporary agency work sector were signed by ULEDI and two nationally representative trade unions, OGB-L and LCGB, on 13 May 1998. They were:

1. an agreement dealing with the working conditions of temporary agency workers; and

2. an agreement covering the permanent direct staff of temporary work agencies.

By mutual agreement with the two signatory unions, the Minister of Labour was asked to issue a declaration that the accords were generally binding on all employers and employees in the sector.

The provisions of the two agreements scarcely go any further than the statutory minima, but the fact that they were signed at all is a sign that the final stage of approval has at last been given to this form of employment.