In the run-up to the major protest, the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) and the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) are currently visiting hospitals around the country to rally support. The unions argue that the healthcare and care sectors were notably absent from PM Luc Frieden’s recent State of the Nation speech.
David Angel from the OGBL pointed out that despite the shortage of care workers across Europe, the PM had made no mention of allocating additional funding to the care sector during his speech.
However, the mobilisation campaign is not limited to care workers, according to the OGBL. Unions are therefore concerned about a broader weakening of collective agreements, particularly the possibility that working time regulations could be removed from such agreements.
The government is also facing strong criticism from the unions over a range of other issues, including pensions, Sunday work, the planned end of energy price caps, and a feared decline in CNS healthcare benefits. The united trade union front thus warns that fundamental rights are being called into question and that the housing crisis is putting the livelihoods of thousands at risk.
