Vehicle-maintenance workers turn down employers' offer

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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' claim for an end-of-year bonus, and in September workers rejected the employers' latest offer.

Negotiations over a new collective agreement for the vehicle-maintenance sector came to a standstill in June 1999 following a refusal by the employers to discuss the trade unions' claims. The employers also demanded flexible working time and the introduction of a reference period for averaging out weekly working hours, and the unions notified the National Conciliation Office (Office national de conciliation) with a view to unblocking the situation. The negotiating parties are: 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) on the trade union side; and the Federation of Luxembourg Garage Employers (Fédération des garagistes luxembourgeois, Fegarlux) and the Luxembourg Association of Automobile Distributors (Association des distributeurs d'automobiles luxembourgeois, ADAL) for employers.

In June 2000, a new collective agreement was signed in the building sector (LU0007140N). Significantly, following a major dispute on the issue, this deal disregarded the opportunities for working time flexibility and hours averaging proposed under the 1999 law that introduced the National Action Plan for employment (LU9903197F), and confined itself to pay rises. Following this lead, a number of other craft sectors concluded new collective agreements, with employers dropping their demands for greater working time flexibility. Vehicle-maintenance employers followed suit and negotiations resumed on 15 June 2000.

In the talks, the two sides were able to move closer together by agreeing on the introduction of compassionate leave, study leave, a long-service bonus and a pre-retirement package. However, no agreement was reached on the trade union claim for the introduction of a guaranteed end-of-year bonus of 4% of a month's salary per year of service, or of additional holiday entitlement in the form of public holidays customarily taken in the vehicle-maintenance sector.

On 26 September 2000, the unions called their members to a joint information and consultation meeting on the latest developments in talks on the new collective agreement. Delegates almost unanimously (80 votes out of 82) rejected the employers' offer, and it is now very likely that the matter will be resubmitted to the National Conciliation Office.