The social dialogue in Luxembourg has many facets.

At the institutional and national level, the elections for the Chamber of Employees are crucial to ensure the representation of the OGBL in the CSL itself, but also in the institutions and jurisdictions of social security and labor law (labor tribunals, National Health Fund, National Pension Fund, etc.), as well as to ensure the general national representativeness of the OGBL for its right to negotiate collective agreements.

These elections for the CSL are currently underway, and by now all voters should have received their ballots by post to elect our representatives. If you haven’t already done so, please fill it out, vote for List 2, and return it by post.

The second important aspect of social dialogue is at sectoral and company level. Social dialogue at this level is crucial for employees. At company level, staff delegates defend workers’ social achievements on a daily basis and talk to management to assert workers’ rights.

This is trade union work par excellence, and I would like to personally thank all those who do this work on the ground every day, bringing trade union ideals and solidarity to life in the workplace.

In a power relationship that is by definition unfavorable to the employee in his interaction with the employer, the staff delegate is his/her natural ally, since he/she represents the collective. And the delegate’s work is all the more effective if he or she can rely on his or her union, the OGBL, which has demonstrated its independence and combativeness in defending the interests of employees in every company in the country, regardless of its size or economic weight!

In order to negotiate with the employer on equal terms, we need a strong union in the company. We must oppose any reduction in the weight of unions in collective negotiations, as proposed in the government’s program. Without the involvement of the unions, discussions on working time will lead to a one-sided flexibilization of work hours.

It is already apparent that problems related to working conditions and the lack of workers’ participation in the organization of their working time are on the rise.

The Chamber of Employees has just published its new survey on working conditions in companies, which is both scientific and representative of the Luxembourg working world: the general trend is clear and worrying: over the last 10 years, well-being at work has deteriorated.

Work intensity, autonomy at work, problems reconciling family and professional life, the risk of burnout and suffering from depression – all the indicators are in the red.

In order to reverse these trends, we need to counter the relentless trend towards greater unilateral flexibility in favor of companies.

We need strong delegations backed by a strong union to talk to management.

So, on March 12, vote again for the OGBL! Vote list 2!

 

By voting for the OGBL in the social elections, Luxembourg’s employees and pensioners can send a clear message to the government and employers.

Tuesday, February 6, 2024. It’s just after 6.30pm when OGBL President Nora Back addresses a crowded room at Luxexpo The Box in Kirchberg. One month before the deadline for the social elections, the OGBL held a major meeting dedicated to its candidates in the social elections, both at the level of the Chamber of Employees (CSL) and at company level.

“We are all here today to further strengthen our union. We are not only by far the largest trade union in the country, but we can now also say that we are the only trade union that is truly committed to the interests of people. We are the driving social force in Luxembourg,” said the OGBL President.

In her speech, Nora Back spoke in depth about the crucial importance of these social elections and the need for the OGBL to emerge strengthened. “These are times of crisis. And the first to suffer are always the employees and pensioners. Difficult times are ahead. Especially now that we have to deal with a liberal-conservative government that speaks the same language as the employers’ organizations. We need a strong OGBL because the OGBL is the only union with the courage to stand up against attacks on the interests of the mass of people”.

Indeed, the coalition agreement gives cause for concern. The OGBL president cited pensions as an example:

“If someone is planning to strengthen the second and third pillars, he is automatically planning to weaken the first. And that means nothing less than the weakening of our public pension system. The OGBL has already warned that it is prepared to do everything in its power to oppose any attempt to call the system into question.

The OGBL president also pointed to the index, which the OGBL has been the only one to defend consistently in recent years, and which it will continue to defend, against all odds if necessary: “With the OGBL, it will not be capped, postponed or manipulated, nor will it be abolished”.

The OGBL began its campaign on January 16. The main commitments made by the OGBL to the electorate are based on 8 main issues: defense of the index, good working conditions and wages, better reconciliation of private and professional life, more protective labor laws, fairer taxation, good pensions, defense of our social security and health systems and ensuring access to housing for all.

For further information: www.elsoc.lu

It’s a historic moment, a date that will go down in the history of Luxembourg trade unions. On January 31, 2024, the Landesverband finally joined the OGBL, in accordance with the unanimous decision of its delegates at an Extraordinary Congress last October.

It was with great emotion that the last president of the FNCTTFEL Landesverband, Georges Merenz, in office since 2017, addressed the union members and guests gathered at the Casino syndical in Bonnevoie on the occasion of a celebration specially organized for this historic day. “Dear comrades, I am now closing the doors of the union founded in 1909 under the name of Fédération nationale des cheminots, travailleurs du transport, fonctionnaires et employés luxembourgeois, FNCTTFEL-Landesverband,” he solemnly declared.

But there is no need to be mistaken, “the history of the Landesverband is far from over”, as Georges Merenz was keen to point out. OGBL president Nora Back added: “This is not the end of the Landesverband. It’s the beginning of something very big, something bigger than what we had together before. In fact, the final integration into the OGBL does not mean that the Landesverband will disappear. After the provisional integration that began in July 2020, the structures of the Landesverband will be incorporated into the OGBL and will strengthen it.

First of all, a new professional syndicate has been added to the existing professional syndicates of the OGBL: the FNCTTFEL/Landesverband Railways Syndicate. The supply teachers affiliated to the Landesverband joined the Education and Science Syndicate (SEW) of the OGBL. Finally, the public service sector of the Landesverband was integrated into the Public Service Syndicate of the OGBL, which is now called the OGBL/Landesverband Public Service Syndicate. As of 2020, the president of the local also holds one of the three vice-presidencies of the OGBL.

Three former presidents of the Landesverband – Josy Konz (1985-1998), Nico Wennmacher (1998-2009) and Guy Greivelding (2009-2017) – were also invited to speak on the occasion of the definitive integration of the Landesverband into the OGBL. All three, in their own way, looked back on the long process that finally led to this successful integration. A path full of pitfalls, as they pointed out. But that’s all water under the bridge now. “I am proud of you that on October 7, 2023, in this room, we unanimously decided to face the future,” said Georges Merenz, stressing the challenges ahead and the need to come together to meet them in the interests of employees, retirees and their families.

Finally, it should be noted that the definitive integration of the Landesverband into the OGBL took place just before the forthcoming social elections on March 12, 2024, thus clarifying matters for all voters called to cast their ballots. And to quote the past president of the Landesverband one last time: “Everyone in the country must know that on March 12 there is only one good choice. It’s List 2, the OGBL!”

Thanks to the continuous efforts of the OGBL

As of January 1, 2024, all employees and retirees will benefit from a new tax relief, following the one already introduced in 2023 in form of a tax credit. These measures are the result of the OGBL’s constant efforts to increase the financial strength of households and individuals, which have led to a change in Luxembourg’s tax policy since 2023.

In 2023, for the first time, employees and retirees received a tax credit (crédit d’impôt conjoncture – CIC) equivalent to the impact of two index tranches on their personal taxation. This credit was applied retroactively as of January 1, 2023. As of January 1, 2024, the tax scale has been adjusted by 10.38%, equivalent to the impact of four index tranches on personal taxation.

This latest measure will permanently reduce the tax burden on households and individuals.

The CIC and the adjustment of the tax scale are part of the package of measures included in the latest tripartite agreement signed by the OGBL in March 2023.

Tripartite agreement boosts purchasing power

As a reminder, in September 2022, after months of lobbying alone, the OGBL succeeded in obtaining a new tripartite agreement that allowed the return to normal operation of the index and the introduction of anti-inflationary measures, particularly with regard to energy prices, as well as the aforementioned tax measures. It should be recalled that a few months earlier, only the OGBL had refused to sign the tripartite agreement, which seriously jeopardized the index, even though it was approved by the other unions!

A first step towards greater tax justice

The new government, under pressure from the OGBL to curb the phenomenon of “cold progression”, which is a real but disguised tax increase, finally decided to extend the number of brackets initially provided for in the tripartite agreement from 2023 to 4 brackets from January 1, 2024. This was in response to the OGBL’s demand for greater tax relief for employees and retirees.

However, the OGBL has not forgotten that since 2017 only half of the tax surcharge has been compensated (4 out of 8 tranches) and that an automatic adjustment of the tax scale, as demanded by the OGBL, is still not provided for. Such an automatic adjustment is necessary to put a definitive end to this theft of the gross index!

On January 29, 2024, a delegation of the OGBL executive board, led by its president Nora Back, met with Lex Delles, minister of the economy, SMEs, energy and tourism, for a first exchange of views on the economic section of the coalition agreement between the CSV and the DP. A frank and sincere exchange!

The meeting focused in particular on the new government’s declared intention to completely deregulate Sunday work. The OGBL is categorically opposed to this measure, as it made clear to the Minister. Referring to the results of a study carried out a few years ago by LISER on behalf of the ministry itself, the OGBL pointed out that in the commerce sector – a sector particularly targeted by the government’s plans – a very large majority of employees (80%) reject the idea of having to work on Sundays. And with good reason: such a measure is clearly not in the interests of employees and their work-life balance.

As for the minister’s suggestion that protective measures be implemented to ensure that Sunday work is only done on a voluntary basis, the OGBL is not convinced. In fact, as the Labor Code emphasizes, the employment relationship is first and foremost a relationship of subordination between an employee and his or her employer. It is therefore illusory to imagine that, if the law gave employers the option, an employee could freely agree to work on Sunday or not, without fear of reprisals in the event of refusal. For the OGBL, the only real guarantee in this area can only be a model that combines a law that prohibits Sunday work in principle with the possibility of derogating from it exclusively within the framework of an agreement within the company (collective bargaining agreement). Such a scenario would also have the advantage of encouraging companies to negotiate collective agreements, thereby increasing the country’s coverage, as required by the European Commission.

Another point raised during the meeting concerned the “employment vouchers” (chèques emploi) that the government plans to introduce to “facilitate the recruitment of staff for very short-term, occasional services (e.g. in the restaurant sector, event business or private households)”. For the OGBL, such a measure is not only of no interest in itself, but is also likely to lead to abuses to the detriment of the people “recruited” to provide these services.

The OGBL also wanted to raise the issue of the award of public contracts with the minister of economy. While the government’s willingness to give greater priority to social, circular and low-carbon criteria in the future is of course to be welcomed, the OGBL is particularly insistent that working conditions should also be taken into account in future public tenders. In this context, the OGBL demands that no public contract can be awarded to a company without a collective bargaining agreement.

On the issue of platform work, the minister of the economy assured that the government is really determined to provide itself with the means to combat the phenomenon of bogus self-employment and the precarious situations it inevitably creates. The OGBL of course welcomes this resolution.

The OGBL also drew the minister’s attention to a number of strategic committees set up by the government in recent years, from which the trade unions are unfairly excluded (such as the Haut-Comité pour l’industrie or the Haut Comité de la place financière), and reiterated its demand to finally be represented on these committees, along with employers’ representatives.

Finally, the OGBL asked the minister to clarify recent statements by the president of the Conseil National de la Productivité (CNP) to the effect that it would be inappropriate for wages in Luxembourg to increase further or that one should reflect on linking wage indexation to productivity rather than inflation. The minister pointed out that such proposals were not to be found in the latest report of the Conseil National de la Productivité, and in any case did not reflect the government’s intentions. The minister even stated that the government has no intention of manipulating the index.

The OGBL welcomes the minister’s statement, but notes that the wording used in the coalition agreement does not completely close the door to any future attempt to manipulate the index. In any case, the OGBL will not tolerate any attack on the index!

OGBL press release,
February 1, 2024

The OGBL declares its full solidarity with the demonstration that will take place on Monday, January 29, 2024, in the city of Luxembourg, in favor of the withdrawal of the municipal decree that prohibits simple begging on the territory of the city. The OGBL welcomes the initiative of the youth organizations of the left parties (JSL, Jonk Gréng, Jonk Lénk).

As the OGBL has already stated, the ban on begging is in no way justifiable. Instead of fighting poverty, which was declared a top priority at the beginning of the negotiations for the new government program, the CSV and DP prefer to fight the poor.

By banning simple begging, the Luxembourg city college of alderman and the government are attacking the most vulnerable people who are in the most precarious situations, especially during the winter months.

Furthermore, neither the city college of alderman nor the government seem to be bothered by the clear and unanimous assertion of the lack of a legal basis and the questioning of the constitutionality of the said regulation, whether it’s the Luxembourg district attorney Georges Oswald or the attorney general Martine Solovieff. By upholding their decision, the city college of alderman and the government show an almost unbelievable nonchalance towards the elementary principles of the rule of law.

As a result, police officers who have to implement the new regulation are in the difficult position of having to issue fines on the basis of a legal text whose legality is, to say the least, dubious. In any case, the wording of the article of the regulation, which indiscriminately targets all forms of begging, including situations of extreme need that have nothing to do with organized begging, clearly diverts resources from other missions of the Grand Ducal Police, starting with the fight against crime.

For all these reasons, the OGBL supports the demand of the organizers of the demonstration against the “Heescheverbuet” to withdraw the regulation as soon as possible.

The OGBL also calls for a real action plan to combat poverty, which must include in particular the following elements:

• structural increase of the social minimum wage, REVIS and income for the severely disabled.
• automatic adjustment of the cost-of-living benefit to increases in the cost of living and broadening of the number of recipients.
• universal access to health care.
• widespread implementation of immediate direct payment of health care costs by the CNS.
• guaranteed access to housing, with effective rent ceilings and a major public housing offensive.