As expected, the General Confederation of Civil Servants (CGFP) emerged as the clear winner of the elections to the Chamber of Public Sector Employees. Voting closed on 26 March, and according to the union, it secured 23 out of the 24 seats reserved for the public service sector.
In the municipal sector, the Federation of Municipal Officials (FGFC) claimed four out of five seats, meaning that CGFP and FGFC together now hold 27 of the 29 mandates in the national chamber representing public employees, where voting took place across ten different groups.
Around 65,000 active and retired public sector employees were invited to vote in these elections, which are held only once every five years.
The CGFP described the outcome as a “landslide victory”, interpreting the result as a strong mandate from voters for it to remain the exclusive negotiating partner with the government. The vote, the union stated, was a clear call for a unified and strong representation of public servants.
This Friday, the CGFP is also expected to present its demands regarding pension reform.
One particularly noteworthy result in these elections was that of Pascal Ricquier, former president of the National Union of the Grand Ducal Police (SNGPL), who ran with the Independent Trade Union Confederation of Luxembourg (OGBL). He topped the list for Group 4 on the OGBL ticket, receiving just under 450 votes.
However, that was not enough to secure a mandate, as all seven seats in that group went to CGFP candidates, including top scorers Raymond Juchem, Gilbert Goergen, Patrick Baddé, and Marco Richard.
Earlier in April, Ricquier left the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV), with which he had stood in the national parliamentary elections. He had already stepped down from the SNPGL.
CGFP’s success was marked by significant wins across nearly all voting groups: in Group 6, the National Teachers’ Union (SNE) of the CGFP regained a seat it had lost five years ago, restoring its two mandates for primary school teachers. In the higher education sector (Group 5), the Federation of University Teachers for the State (Féduse/Enseignement) of the CGFP successfully defended both seats.
In Group 3 (middle career level), the CGFP-affiliated General Association of Managerial Staff (AGC), the Civil Service Professional Union (SPFP), and the General Federation of Administrative and Technical Staff of the State (FGEC) secured all four seats with a joint list, and in Group 4 (lower career levels), CGFP achieved a clean sweep, taking all seven seats.
In four additional groups, no voting took place as CGFP candidates ran unopposed.
In Group 7 (civilian and voluntary army personnel), all three seats went to the joint list of the Association of State Employees (AEE-CGFP) and the Staff Association of the Luxembourg State Bank and Savings Fund (APBCEE).
Meanwhile, Group 1 (career level A1) saw the newly formed CGFP member organisation Association of University Graduates in the Public Sector (UFP) win three seats, and in Group 2 (career level A2), the single seat went to a joint list of the General Association of State Engineers and Technicians (AGITE) and the AGC. CGFP also gained another seat in the culture sector.
