The Postal Workers' Union, during their congress in Walferdange, expressed dissatisfaction with Luxembourg's main trade unions and outlined challenges and demands for postal workers, including a significant push for reclassification and salary improvements amid worsening working conditions.

The secretary general of the Postal Workers' Union asserted on Wednesday evening that the "union is the only one that effectively advocates for postal workers every day." During the congress in Walferdange, he, along with the union's president, expressed dissatisfaction with the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) and the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL).

During the congress, other themes were also addressed, notably the "request for reclassification" filed by a group of 323 employees approximately three months ago to address salary improvements. The Ministry of Civil Service still has a few days to respond to this request. Failure to do so will result in the request not being approved, potentially bringing the matter in front of the administrative court.

Raymond Juchem, the president of the union, said: "We hope that with the help from the 323 postal workers, we can achieve what we as a union have been striving for over the past 30 years. Since 2022, many efforts have been made to implement this career advancement, and a partial success of the 12-point-agreement is also there."

This agreement, brought forward by Marc Hansen, former MP of the Democratic Party (DP) just before the elections, has not been voted on yet. However, it would apply retroactively from 1 March.

The Postal Workers' Union expressed satisfaction with this development. Secretary general Carlo Rovatto highlighted the union's dedication to advocating and working for their 800 members and colleagues every day.

"We're not like other unions who come up to you with coffee or biscuits a couple of weeks before the elections and tell you promising outlandish things. And when l say outlandish, I'm still gracious, because [the OGBL and the LCGB] have absolutely no idea about our profession and about the postal trade in general."

Many colleagues feel regularly overwhelmed – in the past months for example, the weather has made mail carriers' jobs more difficult. Last year, they were also struggling to keep up with the many election brochures, and the traffic is increasingly becoming a bigger challenge. This accumulation of challenges contributes to higher levels of stress, leading many colleagues to take sick days for recovery, according to Juchem.

"Management doesn't accept the frequent use of sick days, and sometimes even puts pressure on employees when they frequently take sick days – in their eyes, they act too rashly. But for us as a union, this situation is unjustifiable."

Given the new strategy at the post, the Postal Workers' Union insists that improvements in working conditions must be the top priority.