Cargolux has become one of Europe’s largest cargo companies, with a record net profit of $1.3 billion in 2021, surpassing its previous record of $768.7 million in 2020. And it’s not over yet as “another record year” is “expected in 2022,” the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) and the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) said on Wednesday.
Despite this and the company’s announcement at the end of 2022 that it intends to buy ten new Boeing 777-8F cargo planes, “management categorically refuses any wage increase and any sustainable improvement in working conditions,” the two trade unions said in a statement on Wednesday.
LCGB and OGBL believe that “the staff have made great efforts which have enabled Cargolux to meet the various challenges and achieve record profits” over the last three years, which have been marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. Recognition of these efforts in the collective agreement is now “more than justified.”
The trade unions are calling for an “attractive remuneration model that reflects the cost of living in Luxembourg” and takes into account the commitment of the staff. In addition, LCGB and OGBL advocate for measures that will allow for a “better work-life balance” and job security.
More generally, the trade unions demand that long-term career prospects be guaranteed for all employees and that all existing and future investments be “made in Luxembourg.”
Investments “must not be used to relocate jobs abroad, nor to employ staff not covered by the Cargolux collective agreement, nor to circumvent the collective agreement.”
