Socio-educational staff demands a place on boards of governors

The OGBL Health, Social and Educational Services Syndicate wishes to draw attention to the vital importance of employees in Luxembourg’s social sector. Indeed, this sector, which is supported by thousands of socio-educational professionals, plays an essential role in society, providing invaluable support and guidance to those who need it most.

So it’s high time to fully recognize and valorize employees in the socio-educational sector for their indispensable contribution to social cohesion and the well-being of all. It’s also high time to give employees a voice in the strategic development of institutions, which is the responsibility of boards of governors.

The OGBL stresses that the sector is facing increasing demand, which means that employees are under constant pressure to meet the ever more complex needs of the population, in a sector marked by a cruel shortage of qualified personnel. Only adequate working conditions and effective social dialogue, with genuine participation by employees working in the field, can guarantee the attractiveness of this sector, which is currently under heavy pressure.

With this in mind, direct participation on boards of governors would enable employee representatives to make full use of their right to co-decision within companies, and to drive the sector forward in a way that respects its employees.

Furthermore, the evolution of the sector has forced institutions to expand at high speed, leading to the emergence of imposing corporate structures. These associations (mainly non-profit organizations, foundations, etc.) now regularly employ more than 1,000 people and manage payrolls approaching several tens of millions of euros.

It is therefore no longer tenable that only companies established in the form of a limited company should provide for employee representation on their boards of governors, as stipulated in article 426-1 of the Labor Code.

The OGBL’s Health, Social and Educational Services Syndicate is therefore calling for a place on boards of governors to be allocated immediately to employees, who will then democratically elect their representatives. In the long term, Article 426-1 of the Labor Code must be adapted and extended to the social sector.

Under pressure from the OGBL, some institutions in the sector have become pioneers in this field, with more than positive results. Initial experience clearly demonstrates that staff representation on boards of governors is a guarantor of social peace.

Through their commitment, their work time and their contribution to company development, employees are, alongside association members and taxpayers, the sector’s largest shareholders. That’s why a real social dialogue with active employee participation deserves to be engaged at board level.

Press release from the OGBL Health, Social and Educational Services Syndicate
June 21, 2023