Trade unions have experienced unfair treatment when it comes to discussions concerning collective labour agreements and pensions. They are either ignored, excluded from cases, or solely informed by the press, criticised Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) president Patrick Dury, in an interview on Monday morning. That is the reason why the LCGB and the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) need to collaborate more closely than ever.
During a press conference last week, the LCGB and OGBL sent a letter to the Prime Minister, stating that they will no longer take part in any dialogue until further notice, unless in tripartite, where trade unions, employers, and the government meet within an institutionalised framework.
So far, there has been no response from Prime Minister Luc Frieden. According to Patrick Dury, the ball is in his court now. A whole series of meetings had taken place, but then, in the State of the Nation speech, the unions were presented with already accomplished facts – also concerning the pension reform:
“In October 2024 we communicated an array of suggestions to the government, be it about contributions, price caps, or alternative funding methods. Now we have been confronted with something which absolutely does not correspond to what we initially suggested. We have yet to be told about it. (…). Enough is enough.”
A further discussion point could be the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive. The latter foresees the minimum wage to translate to 60% of the median, or even 50% of the average, salary. That would equate to a gross sum of €2,900 or €3,100 respectively for the unskilled minimum wage. Currently, the unskilled minimum wage pays €2,700, yet it has been free of tax payments since January 2025.
As Tageblatt recently reported, labour minister Georges Mischo (CSV) intends to remove the payment of a 13th month from civil servants’ salaries. With that measure, Luxembourg would already fulfil the European directive. If that were to happen, it would be a scandal according to LCGB president Patrick Dury:
“That’s where we can see in fact that if civil servants are taken out of the equation, Luxembourg can respect every criteria. It highlights the huge abyss between the public and the private sector, and that abyss will only be fed by these policies if we do not improve the minimum wage. That means what I want to express today is that the social apartheid has become a reality as confirmed by the government’s actions. The government does not even want to address the public sector anymore.”
Above all, improving minimum wage salary, through tax credits or purely the gross wage, is up for discussion. The minimum wage subject could be an added reason to join LCGB and OGBL on the streets on 28 June, when the unions will be demonstrating.
