For ministers Hansen and Kox, the police are not a priority In record time, points 1 and 2 of the wage agreement of December 9, 2022 were implemented, and the corresponding law was published in the Mémorial on April 7, 2023. On April 20, 2023, just before the elections, the Minister in charge, Mr. Hansen, sent an e-mail to all civil servants clearly explaining the financial improvements they would benefit from. This is because he want to show the concerned staff what he’s doing for them and what they’re worth. So far, so good. We ask Minister Hansen to finally implement other legitimate and urgent measures that have already been decided, in 2019, and with the same speed. These are the two points in the June 17, 2019 agreement between the Ministry of Internal Security and the Civil Service on the one hand and the CGFP/SNPGL/ACSP/SPCPG on the other. Specifically, these are measures that will benefit all civil servants who work shifts, namely the introduction of a compensatory rest of 5 days per year for shift work. This compensatory rest will be applied from the year preceding the entry into force of this regulation. The agreement also provided for a 10% increase in the hourly value of the standby premium, i.e. the remuneration for shift work. What has happened so far? Nothing at all! These two elements have been lost in an overall law project that has been in the pipeline for a long time. These improvements were decided on June 17, 2019, the project was presented on July 31, 2020 (after 13 months) and nothing has happened since the position of the Council of State on October 26, 2021 (again 15 months later). It should be emphasized that the Council of State did not criticize the aforementioned measures. If these provisions had been implemented at the same pace as the financial improvements in the last wage agreement, i.e. after 4 months, the agents concerned would have already received their compensatory rest for the years 2018 to 2022. This means that these agents have already lost 25 days of compensatory rest due to Minister Hansen’s negligence. On top of that, they have also had to do without the 10% increase in their shift allowance for the years 2018 to 2022. Let’s not forget that these agents accept massive restrictions on their private and family life, not to mention all the other inconveniences associated with shift work, in order to be at the service of the country and the citizens at all times. Why couldn’t concrete improvements for these personnel be implemented in a separate law? The delays in the implementation of these measures have already been raised in a parliamentary question (No. 5149) of October 26, 2021. At the time, Minister Kox’s answer only referred to the “future law” and did not address the fact that with each passing year, the concerned agents definitively lose the promised improvements. ADESP and OGBL have enough! Public sector shift personnel have waited long enough. It’s time to dot the i’s and cross the t’s and remove the part on the working hours of public servants from the overall draft law and vote it through – retroactively, as if the law had been properly passed in 2019 – before the summer break and before the legislative elections. Press release from ADESP and the Civil Service Department of the OGBL, May 24, 2023
The ball is in the government’s court In the context of cases brought by a large number of police officers with baccalaureate degrees who want to be reclassified in B1, the Administrative Court has just issued appeals. In it, the Court points out that “although, in the light of the Constitutional Court’s findings, the intervention of the legislature appears to be necessary, the Court itself cannot remedy this situation, for fear of encroaching on the powers of the legislature”. The conclusion is therefore clear: since the Court finds discrimination but cannot intervene in the legislative process, the responsibility now lies with the relevant minister. The current state of the law must therefore be amended to comply with the constitutional principle of equal treatment. In its judgment, the Court also speaks of a missed opportunity: “The choice thus made by the legislature, in adopting the law of July 18, 2018, not to automatically reclassify police officers […], holders of a diploma of completion of classical or general secondary education or an equivalent diploma […], in treatment group B1, is a political choice […].” The OGBL, which has been working with ADESP since February 2020, fully agrees with ADESP’s demand to be reclassified in B1 and supported the legal steps taken to achieve this. Indeed, it is unjustifiable that police officers who perform the same tasks, have largely the same level of work and have the same job description, are nevertheless classified in different pay grades depending on whether they were hired before or after August 1, 2018. It should be recalled that before August 1, 2018, the civil servants concerned did not have a choice between B1 and C1 careers, and anyone who wanted to become a police officer had to become an inspector, which corresponds to today’s C1 career. It is now up to the government, which has so far shown no inclination to reverse its 2018 decision, stating that it wants to “wait for the decision of the Administrative Court”, to act quickly and present a draft law within a short timeframe. ADESP has already drawn up a draft law – a proposal supported by OGBL – on which Minister Kox could base his draft law. The main points of ADESP’s proposed law are as follows: All officers in career C1 of the police cadre whose first appointment took place before August 1, 2018 and who held a high school diploma on August 1, 2018 will be reclassified to career B1; they will be reclassified in the salary grade corresponding to their seniority; Agents will be exempted from the promotion exam if they have already passed a promotion exam in career C1; all civil servants who meet the conditions for reclassification but who have been transferred to career B1 after August 1, 2018 by means of the “out-in” (Article 66) or “Voie Expresse” (Article 94) mechanisms will also be reclassified retroactively as of August 1, 2018. The effects of these mechanisms are considered not to have occurred. However, civil servants who have passed the B1 career promotion exam since 2018 will not have to retake it. The OGBL and the ADESP call on Minister Kox and the government as a whole not to waste any more time and to present as soon as possible a draft law corresponding to these proposals, in order to prevent the situation within the Grand Ducal Police from getting worse. It should be noted that the civil servants who have already been wronged have been saddled with the additional responsibility of training a large number of trainee police officers. The ADESP has already been informed of various facts, always pointing out that the necessary professional supervision of trainee officers is not guaranteed due to low morale. This predictable and harmful scenario has been repeatedly reported to the Minister of Police. OGBL and ADESP press release, May 8, 2023
Better working and salary conditions for staff are a prerequisite for the consistent expansion of public passenger transport Recently, four structures of the OGBL and the Landesverband – Public Service OGBL/Landesverband Syndicate, Road Transport and Navigation-ACAL Syndicate, Railways FNCTTFEL-Landesverband Syndicate and the Public Service Department – held a meeting with the Minister of Mobility and his civil servants. The union representatives had requested this meeting based on information that within the framework of the reorganization of public passenger transport in the south of the country, there would be a reduction of the lines operated by TICE. The trade union delegation criticized in this context the creeping tendency to replace publicly operated lines by lines operated by private bus companies, as well as the fact that the observed staff shortage, the constant overtime and the resulting absences due to illness (especially burnout) are mainly addressed by a deterioration of working conditions, by hiring new bus drivers in a less well paid status (municipal employees instead of municipal civil servants, private law instead of public). For OGBL and Landesverband, this is exactly the wrong way to proceed: career prospects, salary and working conditions must be improved in order to make the profession of bus driver more attractive again. This is also in line with the government’s goals. During the meeting, the representatives of the Ministry explained the government’s plans to further expand public passenger transport, to increase complementarity between the various services and also to introduce more cross-border lines in the south of the country. The representatives of the Ministry underlined that by 2035 it is expected that instead of 75,000 passengers today, 160,000 passengers per day will have to be transported. Also, a study has shown that a very large number of cross-border workers work in the south of the country, while until now cross-border passenger transport has been mainly focused on the city of Luxembourg. It is therefore necessary to improve the complementarity of the various services, between the fast tram, to an increased frequency in rail transport, as well as to the additional cross-border lines, and thus to increase the overall capacity. These efforts cannot be achieved without sufficient and satisfied staff. Regarding the TICE, the representatives of the Ministry gave the all-clear to some extent: it is not yet clear whether there will really be a reduction in the number of lines operated by the TICE, as the negotiations with the Municipal Syndicate in this regard are still ongoing. The current convention is still in place until 2024. Although the content of this convention is not yet known, it is clear that there will not be less service overall, given the capacity increases that will have to be provided. The representatives of the Ministry have underlined that in any case there would be no dismissals at TICE. It is not up to the Ministry of Mobility to decide under which status new drivers should be hired at TICE, but the ball is clearly in the local authorities’ court. The minister did not want to make any statement about the operator of the future tram line between Luxembourg and Esch-Belval; this decision would have to be made by his successor. Other topics discussed during the meeting included the situation at the training center CFC (Centre de formation des conducteurs), which should be reorganized for the OGBL and receive additional regional branches, as well as the annoying and still largely unresolved question of access to toilets, especially for the RGTR bus drivers, but also for the drivers of the TICE. Even at a central hub such as Belval, this is currently not yet guaranteed. This is also part of attractive working conditions for drivers. The representatives of the Ministry have assured to continue to influence the local authorities in this sense, especially since 50% of the costs are now covered by the state. Communicated by the Syndicates Public Service OGBL/Landesverband, Road Transport-ACAL, Railways FNCTTFEL-Landesverband and the Public Service Department of the OGBL, on April 21, 2023.
L’OGBL soumet son catalogue de revendications au ministre Marc Hansen Alors que l’accord salarial de la Fonction publique arrive à échéance à la fin de l’année 2022, le département de la Fonction publique de l’OGBL vient de transmettre son catalogue de revendications au ministre de la Fonction publique, Marc Hansen, en vue des négociations du nouvel accord salarial. Pour l’OGBL et pour ses quatre syndicats professionnels concernés (Service public OGBL/Landesverband; Chemins de fer FNCTTFEL-Landesverband; Education et Sciences; Santé, Services sociaux et éducatifs), qui regroupent ensemble près de 20 000 salariés, fonctionnaires et employés du secteur public, il n’est plus justifiable que le ministre compétent mène les négociations relatives à l’accord salarial avec le seul syndicat majoritaire de la Fonction publique. La CGFP ne regroupe en effet que les fonctionnaires et employés de l’Etat, et n’a d’ailleurs jamais eu la prétention d’organiser des travailleurs relevant d’un autre statut. Or, le résultat des négociations de l’accord salarial n’impacte pas seulement les fonctionnaires et employés de l’Etat, mais aussi, directement ou indirectement, des dizaines de milliers de travailleurs du secteur public, dont les agents CFL, les salariés, fonctionnaires et employés des services publics communaux, les salariés de l’Etat, ainsi que les salariés des établissements publics et conventionnés dans les secteurs de la santé, des services sociaux et éducatifs. Il faut rappeler dans ce contexte que l’OGBL, respectivement le FNCTTFEL-Landesverband, sont majoritaires dans la grande majorité des secteurs concernés. Par conséquent, l’OGBL insiste pour être intégré aux négociations de l’accord salarial, en attendant une réorganisation de ces négociations, afin qu’elles deviennent des négociations salariales globales pour l’ensemble du secteur public (1er point du catalogue de revendications envoyé au ministre). L’OGBL s’attend donc à recevoir une invitation de la part du ministre de la Fonction publique en vue d’une première réunion de négociation dans les meilleurs délais. Communiqué par le département de la Fonction publique de l’OGBL, le 28 octobre 2022 >> Catalogue de revendications du Département de la Fonction publique de l’OGBL en vue des prochaines négociations de l’accord salarial de la Fonction publique (PDF)
Halte à la politique de privatisation! – Un changement de cap est nécessaire La pandémie du Covid-19 a démontré une fois de plus le caractère essentiel des services publics et non-marchand. Les services publics et non-marchand ont en effet garanti que la vie quotidienne et l’économie puissent continuer à fonctionner, malgré les restrictions imposées en raison de la pandémie. Les services publics et non-marchand ont de fait un rôle important d’amortisseur de crises, qu’elles soient sanitaire, économique ou sociale. De l’autre côté, la crise sanitaire a aussi mis en évidence l’impact néfaste des politiques d’épargnes, de privatisation et de libéralisation entreprises par le passé. Or, malgré la reconnaissance de ce rôle essentiel, on a l’impression que les politiques de privatisation, déjà graduellement mises en place depuis les années 1990, se sont encore renforcées d’un cran ces derniers mois au Luxembourg. Mais en même temps, peut-être aussi précisément en raison des expériences faites au cours de la crise, on constate que l’opposition à ces politiques est en train de grandir. On l’a vu en particulier lors de la récente mobilisation de milliers d’enseignants, ainsi que de l’ensemble des syndicats d’enseignants, en partenariat avec des associations d’étudiants, contre le projet de loi no 7662 du ministre de l’Éducation nationale, qui prévoyait l’ouverture du recrutement des directeurs des lycées spécialisés pour des personnes venant du secteur privé. Grâce à cette large mobilisation, pleinement soutenue par l’OGBL qui avait d’ailleurs déjà planifié un piquet de protestation, le projet de loi n’a finalement pas été soumis au vote à la Chambre des Députés. Rappelons toutefois que le ministre Meisch n’a pour l’instant ni retiré ni même amendé son projet. Et que des projets de loi très similaires, concernant les directeurs et directeurs adjoints du SCRIPT et de l’IFEN, mais aussi du Commissaire aux sports, ont été déposés à la Chambre des députés. La question des directions ne constitue toutefois que la pointe de l’iceberg dans le cadre d’une tendance rampante de privatisations, qui touche désormais les branches les plus diverses du secteur public. Ne citons que : le recours à des sociétés de sécurité privées dans les communes de Luxembourg et de Differdange pour assurer des missions revenant à la Police Grand-ducale l’externalisation des laboratoires dans les hôpitaux les tentatives visant à utiliser le virage ambulatoire pour favoriser la prise en charge d’activités extrahospitalières par des entités privées le remplacement projeté de la ligne de chemin de fer entre Esch-sur-Alzette et Audun-le-Tiche par une ligne de bus qui sera opérée par une entreprise privée l’exploitation prévisible des lignes de tram vers Esch et Belvaux par des entreprises de droit privé plutôt que par les CFL l’achat de programmes scolaires et l’externalisation de la correction d’examens à des multinationales dans le cadre de l’enseignement secondaire public le fait de favoriser le développement de la concurrence entre les écoles au lieu d’une approche intégréeainsi que, de manière plus étroitement liée à la crise du Covid-19: la reprise en main de l’analyse des données et de la politique de communication du «large scale testing» par Arendt Consulting, PWC et KPMG après l’échéance du contrat avec l’établissement public LIH l’externalisation, prévue dès le départ, de la coordination et de l’encadrement des nouveaux centres de vaccination Cette liste n’est pas exhaustive. La seule justification avancée par le gouvernement pour expliquer ces évolutions semble consister dans le fait de dire que de telles décisions en faveur de privatisations ne constituent pas un fait nouveau et qu’il existe des précédents. Par conséquent, de plus en plus de services publics et non-marchand se voient externalisées et privatisées, suivant une stratégie de saucissonnage. Ces politiques ne profitent finalement qu’aux entreprises privées qui obtiennent ainsi des marchés publics lucratifs. Elles ne profitent certainement pas aux salariés. Les expériences passées de privatisation ont en effet montré qu’à chaque fois, les salariés employés dans les nouvelles entités créées sont soumis à des conditions salariales et de travail inférieures à celles qui étaient en vigueur avant la privatisation. Ceci vaut également dans le cas où l’État reste actionnaire majoritaire, voire le seul actionnaire, alors que le prestataire public en question est transformé en établissement de droit privé. Sans exception, ces politiques de libéralisation se sont toujours faites au détriment des conditions de travail, de salaire et de protection contre le licenciement du personnel concerné. Elles ne profitent également guère aux consommateurs, qui ne bénéficient pas des prétendus bienfaits de la concurrence et se retrouvent face à des monopoles privés. Au lieu de viser l’intérêt général — qui devrait être l’objectif premier de tout service public — ces derniers visent en effet en premier lieu la maximalisation de leur marge bénéficiaire. La perte évidente de qualité offerte par nombre de services, qui étaient pris en charge antérieurement par des opérateurs publics, en est le résultat direct. Pour l’OGBL, les limites du supportable sont désormais atteintes. Le gouvernement a tiré une leçon essentielle de la crise économique et financière de 2008, à savoir le refus de mettre en œuvre une nouvelle politique d’austérité, qui minerait le pouvoir d’achat des ménages et ainsi prolongerait la crise économique. Il est grand temps aussi qu’il se rende compte de la valeur essentielle des services publics et non-marchand, tout particulièrement en temps de crise. Il est donc grand temps d’inverser la tendance et de mettre un terme à la privatisation rampante des services publics et non-marchand. Dans l’intérêt de toute la société. Communiqué par le département Fonction publique de l’OGBL, le 18 décembre 2020