Marc Spautz defends collective agreements and dialogue with social partners

Addressing the recently announced tariffs by the US government, Marc Spautz expressed his disagreement over the US President's approach and hoped that the EU would try to negotiate as one single entity.

Moving on to local Luxembourgish affairs, Spautz was asked about his recently voiced concerns over the government's announcements regarding changes to labour law and the sidelining of trade unions in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements. Divergences on this issue within the CSV were uncovered. He stressed that adaptations in labour law are indeed necessary, but that such changes need to be negotiated with social partners. Furthermore, specific changes can also be implemented through collective bargaining agreements that take into account workers' interests as well as companies' interests, he stated.

Spautz mentioned some examples, such as the planned increase of Sunday work hours from 4 to 8, the extension of business opening hours, the extension of the reference period in working hours plans from 4 to 12 months, and a reform of the law on collective bargaining agreements. He suggests that all these changes should be regarded as a whole, which would ideally result in a "package" agreed upon with the social partners. Indeed, he emphasises that his "personal preference" is that these changes should be negotiated through collective bargaining agreements.

However, the draft laws for the increase in Sunday work hours and the extension of opening hours have already been presented in parliament. In this regard, Spautz suggested waiting for the official opinion of the State Council.

Pressed a bit further about this issue, Spautz made clear that it is not up to him to wait until an agreement can be found with social partners before the law is approved or not. Nevertheless, he stressed the importance of dialogue instead of unilateral decision-making, highlighting as well the importance of social harmony in Luxembourg as an aspect of the country that has been a historical advantage to its business reputation.

Remarking on the presence of these measures in the government coalition agreement, Spautz was asked about the reasons for his approval of the coalition agreement; he replied that these measures can be implemented in various ways, namely through legal changes, bilateral agreements, or collective bargaining agreements.

Regarding changes to the legal framework on collective bargaining agreements and on staff delegations, Spautz stressed once again the need for dialogue with the trade unions, as this framework forms the basis of their negotiating power.

Finally, Spautz was asked about the lack of transparency of ongoing talks between the government and its social partners, to which he answered that a basis has to be rebuilt between the government and its social partners, so much so that private talks may be more suitable in certain cases where dialogue is blocked.