"The Human Being at the Centre" — Alain Martin, President of the Staff Delegation at Cardif Lux Vie

Social dialogue is often spoken about in abstract terms. Alain Martin speaks about it from experience. As president of the staff delegation at Cardif Lux Vie S.A., now fully released from his regular duties to exercise his mandate, he sums up his mission simply: be present, listen, support, and defend employees in their daily working lives.

Alain Martin arrived in Luxembourg in 2001 after an initial professional experience in France and joined Cardif in 2012. At that point, nothing suggested he would one day become a delegate. It was a difficult period on a human level that pushed him to get involved. He wanted to act so that others would not have to go through certain situations at work alone. "I went through something difficult on a human level, and I didn't want others to have to endure that kind of thing."

He became a delegate in 2014 and is now serving his third mandate, his second as fully released president. Along the way, he joined ALEBA. The choice, he says, came naturally. He found an approach that was closer to the ground, more apolitical, and above all more human.

"I found a union that puts people at the centre," he sums up.

For him, once elected, a delegation president must be there for all employees, without distinction.

That is also what explains the trust his team has been able to build at Cardif Lux Vie over the course of successive social elections. In the eyes of the employees, what matters most is the person — their presence, their ability to listen, their capacity to act. "People vote for someone who listens, who shows empathy, who is available and who fights for them," he puts it. In this logic, union work is not just about a label. It is built over time — through consistency and results.

His method is clear: defend employees with seriousness, without making confrontation a reflex. Alain Martin speaks of patient work, grounded in negotiation, aimed at achieving concrete progress. Among the advances he cites are the increase in meal vouchers from €10.80 to €12.90, then to €15, as well as the rise in transport allowance contributions from €35 to €50. He also points to the development of hub sites, which allow some employees, particularly cross-border commuters, to reduce their travel and improve their quality of working life. "We always try to give them a little more," he says.

But beyond the collective cases, it is the human dimension of the mandate that comes through most often in his words. Behind the meetings and negotiations are individual situations: employees in difficulty, periods of burnout, moments when the task is to listen, support, guide — sometimes simply to be there. It is in this accompaniment that he finds the deepest meaning of his commitment. "The most rewarding thing is to feel useful."

His testimony also says something broader about the role of a union today. Many employees, he observes, only recognise its value when a problem arises. Yet, in his view, membership should not be seen solely as a recourse in times of difficulty, but also as support for a collective framework that protects all workers.

If one had to sum up in a single word what he found at ALEBA, Alain Martin would choose this one without hesitation: humanity. It is this word that runs through his journey, his way of working, and his vision of social dialogue at Cardif Lux Vie.