Download article in original language : LU0311102NFR.DOC
In October 2003, trade unions in the Luxembourg iron and steel industry organised a petition and demonstration in favour of the continuation of a special early retirement scheme, which is due to expire at the end of 2004.
A meeting of the iron and steel industry tripartite committee in January 2002 agreed that blue- and white collar workers employed by Arbed, the sector's major employer, born in 1945, 1946 or 1947, could apply for 'adjustment' early retirement (préretraite-ajustement) on their 57th birthday ( LU0110102N). This measure affected 262 workers born in 1945, 298 born in 1946, and 337 born in 1947, and has a deadline of 31 December 2004. The Employment Fund ( Fonds pour l'emploi) agreed to underwrite the entire cost, and Arbed also agreed to fund a retraining unit for blue-collar workers unable to carry on working on the production line. The unit, through a vocational training package, gives the individuals concerned an opportunity to retrain for other employment in the enterprise.
The Luxembourg Confederation of Independent Trade Unions ( Onofhängege Gewerkschafts-Bond Lëtzebuerg, OGB-L) and Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions ( Lëtzebuerger Chrëschtleche Gewerkschafts-Bond, LCGB) now want the special early retirement scheme to be continued beyond the beginning of 2005 and to be extended to workers born after 1947, up until 1956. The unions also call for the retraining unit to be retained after the end of 2004. Arbed - now part of the merged Arcelor group ( LU0201191F) - has refused to meet these demands.
In response to a call from OGB-L and LCGB trade unions, several hundred blue-collar workers employed by Arcelor held a demonstration on 24 October 2003 to protest against the company’s refusal to continue the early retirement scheme. Furthermore, a petition campaign launched in September 2003 has met with considerable success among Arcelor's blue-collar workers, 90% of whom (3,880) have signed the petition in favour of the measure being continued. The trade unions argue that Arcelor is seeking 'to shrug off its social responsibility towards employees, who should not have to pay for the damage caused during the 1970-80 crisis' and state that they are 'ready to put up a fight and, if necessary, resort to more combative action'.