© Pedro Venâncio / RTL
On Thursday, OGBL president Nora Back confirmed that the OGBL and LCGB would no longer negotiate on the Standing Committee on Labour and Employment (CPTE).
Back said the unions did not want to have an "empty chair policy", but claimed the committee was leading them astray, forcing the unions out of negotiations on the organisation of working hours. During social negotiations recently, the unions were meant to return to the CPTE as part of an overall agreement. But this has not happened.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Luc Frieden, the Union of Syndicates explained that the Standing Committee on Labour and Employment no longer had a reason to meet. This was attributed to the government's decision to change the tripartite negotiation model in the recent rounds of talks. In the letter, the union asked for the labour minister to meet with each social partner separately in order to discuss the organisation of working hours. In the social talks, it was decided that negotiations should continue as part of the CPTE.
The trade unions criticised Frieden's lack of impetus to find a compromise during the negotiations, and the fact that he had chosen to end the discussions early despite their constructive nature and despite the fact that employers and unions were starting to find common ground. In this way, the unions accused Frieden of burying the tripartite model.
LCGB president Patrick Dury said on Thursday that the risk was now that strike action could take place on a larger scale than ever before. But no concrete dates have been set for any protests.
