On 7 January, the OGBL and LCGB met with new labour minister Marc Spautz for the first time.
The unions said the atmosphere at the meeting had been good, but that no formal discussions had taken place. However, both trade unions have demanded to be involved in future negotiations concerning the civil service, or else the CGFP civil service union will no longer be permitted to participate in meetings for the Standing Committee for Labour and Employment (CPTE). OGBL president Nora Back explains:
“As the OGBL and LCGB, we are represented in businesses, in sectors where thousands of people work, and are directly dependent on the salary agreement in the civil service. So for this reason, as we’ve been saying for a long time, we want to sit at the negotiation table for civil service salary agreements and for all big political decisions affecting the public sector.”
When asked if this could lead to unnecessary tensions between the unions, if the CGFP is excluded from the CPTE, LCGB president Patrick Dury said both employees and unions in the private sector had been under immense pressure over the last year.
“During the same period, a salary agreement was negotiated in the public sector. We don’t have an issue with that, nor with the contents of the agreement. But in future we’d like a certain transparency, so we know what is happening in the other sector, to avoid situations like last year.”
The Ministry of Labour said that Marc Spautz intended to speak with all stakeholders first prior to making a public statement. CGFP president Romain Wolff also declined to make a statement, not wishing to react “in the heat of the moment”.
