Bargaining over a new collective agreement for Luxembourg's banking sector proved stormy in March 1999, with employers and unions unable to reach a deal. However, the bargaining process has brought together the formerly divergent positions of the trade unions involved.
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Bargaining over a new collective agreement for Luxembourg's banking sector proved stormy in March 1999, with employers and unions unable to reach a deal. However, the bargaining process has brought together the formerly divergent positions of the trade unions involved.
Negotiations over a new collective agreement for the 22,000 private-sector white-collar employees in the banking sector commenced in October 1998 (LU9811178N) but progress has proved slow (LU9902193N). The parties to the bargaining are the Luxembourg Association of Banks and Bankers (Association des Banques et Banquiers du Luxembourg, ABBL) and four trade unions - 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 Luxembourg Association of Bank Staffs (Association luxembourgeoise des employés de banque, ALEBA) and the Federation of Private Sector White-Collar Employees (Fédération des Employés Privés, FEP)
A round of talks held on 10 March 1999 was classified as a failure by the four trade unions involved on the grounds that ABBL rejected any consolidated pay rise exceeding 1% over three years, or any "serious and equitable" increase in the annual bonus paid in June. The same went for union demands relating to vocational training and changes in work organisation. As far as the trade unions are concerned, ABBL's proposals are out of line with the banking sector's results, which show a net profit exceeding EUR 25 billion.
A subsequent additional round of talks spread over a number of days led to divergent publicly stated positions on the likelihood of an agreement, and resulted in the replacement of the ABBL representative, whose "unacceptable" negotiating methods could no longer, they stated, be tolerated by the unions.
Developments strongly suggest that the unions, having themselves previously held divergent views on several issues under negotiation, are now prepared to adopt a joint strategy for claiming substantial pay rises, while at the same time opposing the employers' demand for a increased reference period of six months for averaging out working time.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1999), Hard bargaining in banking, article.
