Introduction of progressive early retirement for Luxtram staff On 10 July, the OGBL’s FNCTTFEL-Landesverband railways syndicate and Luxtram’s management signed an amendment to the collective bargaining agreement, introducing progressive early retirement for the transport company’s staff. This social measure offers the possibility of gradually reducing their working hours to employees close to retirement who meet the conditions. This reduction frees up a position in the company that can be filled by a jobseeker registered with the Employment Development Agency (Adem). The OGBL welcomes Luxtram’s desire to improve the working conditions of its senior employees and is delighted to see this important social benefit included in the collective bargaining agreements. Press release issued by the OGBL’s FNCTTFEL-Landesverband railways syndicate, 15 July 2024
The OGBL wins major improvements for the employees of the CFL Multimodal Group! Faced with a significant decline in the financial results of the CFL Multimodal Group, the unions represented in the staff delegations were approached by the group’s management with a request to renew the Group’s collective agreement for another year. The OGBL, the majority union within the CFL Multimodal Group, and its delegates were open to this proposal, but insisted on obtaining improvements in the interests of the group’s employees. As part of the renewal of the collective agreement signed on December 21, 2023, the following improvements were obtained an increase in meal vouchers to 10.80 euros as of April 2024 allocation of a single voucher of 150 euros adjustment of salary scales to compensate for any progression lost due to changes in the social minimum wage. The renewal of the collective agreement will take effect on January 1, 2024 and will run until December 31, 2024. At the end of 2024, the OGBL and its delegates within the CFL Multimodal Group will conduct new negotiations with management with a view to a genuine renewal of the collective agreement, with a broader catalogue of demands drawn up in consultation with the employees. Press release of the OGBL’s Railways / FNCTTFEL / Landesverband Syndicate December 21, 2023
The international line from Luxembourg to Liège through the Ardennes deserves better! On October 11th, 2023, a press conference was held in Gouvy where the two trade unions OGBL/FNCTTFEL-Landesverband and CGSP Cheminots Régionale LVHW (Liège – Verviers – Huy – Welkeraedt) presented their demands regarding the international line Luxembourg – Liège via the Ardennes. During the press conference, René Birgen, secretary of AÖT (Aktioun Öffentlechen Transport), presented the joint document of demands. The two unions welcomed the signing on October 3 by Luxembourg’s Minister of Mobility and Public Works, François Bausch, and Belgium’s Minister of Mobility in the Belgian Federal Government, Georges Gilkinet, of a declaration of intent to strengthen rail cooperation between Luxembourg and Belgium, in which both parties commit themselves to the following objectives Double the share of commuters using trains between the two countries by 2040. Double the volume of rail freight between Belgium and Luxembourg by 2040 To make rail transport even more attractive by reducing travel times between the two capitals, with the aim of connecting Brussels and Luxembourg in 2 hours by 2030. However, this declaration of intent does not mention the Luxembourg-Liège line, where investment would be entirely appropriate to reduce the current journey time of 2 hours 39 minutes to 100 minutes. This demand was already made by the Landesverband and the CGSP in 2005, but unfortunately little has been achieved so far. However, it would be possible to reduce the travel time by increasing the speed of the line between Gouvy and Vielsalm from 100 km/h to 120 km/h. However, according to an Infrabel official, this would require an investment of around 3 to 4 million euros to correct the curves and adapt the catenary to the new layout. On the Belgian side, it has been announced that major investments in line 42 are not planned until 2026 and 2027, and that the work will be limited to ballasting and the replacement of individual points to avoid temporary slowdowns on the line. Another requirement is the use of more comfortable trains on the line. The Siemens Désiro railcars currently running on the line are far from first-class. Narrow seats in 2ᵉ class, a single lavatory per power car for a 230-seat train, and a 1ᵉ class that is not much different from the 2ᵉ class are not very attractive criteria for enticing additional passengers to make this long train journey. There is therefore an urgent need to use more comfortable vehicles such as SNCB’s I11 or M6. Finally, the rail service between Luxembourg and Liège needs to be improved as soon as possible. In addition to improving the timetable, additional trains are needed during the morning and evening rush hours on weekdays and Saturdays. Currently, the first train from Liège does not arrive in Luxembourg until 8:46 a.m., which is far too late for many employees. In the evening, the last train to Liège leaves at 21:16, so an extra train an hour later would make sense. Communicated by the Syndicate Chemins de fer OGBL/FNCTTFEL Landesverband, October 12, 2023
Renewal of the collective agreement for Luxtram employees On October 3, 2023, OGBL and FNCTTFEL-Landesverband signed with Luxtram management the renewal of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for Luxtram employees. The new CBA enters into force retroactively as of January 1, 2023 for a period of three years, i.e. until December 31, 2025. Among other things, the new CBA honors the commitment made in the first CBA signed with Luxtram management to improve opportunities for advancement in all wage groups. Automatic salary progression has been introduced and the end-of-year bonus has been decoupled from the appraisal system and converted into a fixed bonus. The appraisal system has also been improved to allow for advanced salary progression. Bonuses for night and weekend work were also improved. The new agreement also introduces provisions for teleworking, medical check-ups and blood donations during working hours. The new agreement covers 170 employees and the staff delegation is made up of 6 OGBL/Landesverband delegates. The main improvements included in the new agreement are as follows automatic payment of a 4% year-end bonus automatic promotion after 7 years of service possibility of promotion based on evaluation after 4 years of service night differential increased from 15% to 25% introduction of a Saturday premium of 25% Sunday premium increased from 70% to 80% possibility for administrative staff to telecommute up to two days per week possibility for administrative staff on flexitime to use excess flexitime to attend medical appointments during fixed working hours – a certificate must be presented after each appointment 2 x 4 hours leave per year to donate blood Press release issued by the Public Service OGBL/Landesverband Syndicate and the Railways OGBL/FNCTTFEL-Landesverband on October 6, 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)