Speaking on behalf of the trade union front, Patrick Dury has confirmed that unions will participate in the upcoming tripartite talks, which he characterised as "the last chance to save the Luxembourgish model."
The trade union front, comprising the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) and the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB), said the announcement by Prime Minister Luc Frieden is to be welcomed in principle. LCGB President Patrick Dury stated that the OGBL and LCGB will naturally attend the tripartite meeting, as they have been demanding such a round of talks for a long time.
Dury noted that social dialogue with the current government has so far yielded no results. He warned that the announced tripartite meeting is therefore the last chance to keep the Luxembourg model alive.
Dury stressed that it is important for the meetings to be well prepared. Issues that are close to the unions' hearts include purchasing power, the minimum wage, platform work, and job retention. For the rest, the unions are keeping their cards close to their chest. According to Dury, the discussions should not be pre-empted now, and he is not drawing any red lines in this regard.
However, the trade unions are not backing down from their plans to present union action on May Day as a consequence of the failure of discussions surrounding the minimum wage.
