Roberto Mendolia : For the defence and improvement of the Luxembourg social and trade union model

Luxembourg, 21 October 2024 - As a trade union driving change, ALEBA, the leading trade union in the Luxembourg financial centre, wishes to react to the recent proposals of the Minister of Labour, Georges Mischo, concerning the reform of the laws governing the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements.

ALEBA supports the need to reform the current framework to make it more inclusive by not limiting itself to the monopoly of national trade unions, for example, while preserving and strengthening the role of trade unions in negotiations. However, we remain very concerned about the impact of specific proposals, in particular, the idea of allowing staff delegations to negotiate collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) without the intervention of trade unions. This prospect is, for ALEBA, totally unacceptable, and we will campaign with all the force necessary to prevent such a scenario.

"It is imperative that unions remain an integral part of the negotiations and, above all, that they sign collective agreements. This minister's approach even seems to go against the idea of European Directive 2022/2041, which must be transcribed into Luxembourg law. In many cases, staff representatives elected under neutral banners remain affiliated with unions such as ALEBA. Look at what is happening at Banque Havilland: many delegates elected under neutral banners are members of ALEBA and benefit from its union support in terms of expertise, negotiations, training and legal advice. Dismantling this link would greatly harm the protection of workers", underlines ALEBA President Roberto Mendolia.

More union coverage, more sectoral collective agreements, guarantees of prosperity and stability

The government must not make a mistake about its target. The most stable and prosperous countries are those where trade unions are respected, and their strength as a managerial counter-power is not questioned. Broad union coverage and strong sectoral collective agreements guarantee economic prosperity and a stable social ALEBA – a union for all / +352 22 32 28 1 / info@aleba.lu / www.aleba.lu environment. This is a recognized model in Europe, and Luxembourg is still far from the 80% collective coverage recommended by the European Union.

A reform must make it possible to achieve this European objective by strengthening trade unions, guaranteeing the predictability of costs for companies, and ensuring healthy working conditions for employees.

A more inclusive social model for the future

ALEBA calls for legislative reform to include more organized actors around the negotiating table, ensuring that any trade union in the country can participate in collective bargaining if it has one or more elected representatives within the scope of the relevant collective agreement. The current monopoly of national unions creates a blatant inequality that must be abolished while maintaining unions as essential interlocutors for employers in negotiating collective agreements and social plans.

An inevitable reform to abolish persistent legal discrimination

Non-national unions, such as ALEBA, although the majority in the financial sector, continue to suffer legal discrimination compared to so-called “national” unions. The latter are automatically admitted to negotiations of CBAs, even if they do not have a clear majority within the companies concerned, unlike ALEBA, which must prove that it receives at least 50% of the votes in each company covered by a collective agreement to be able to participate.

A recent example of this discrimination is the exclusion of ALEBA from negotiations in an industrial company despite the election of one of its delegates. The Ministry of Labor has still not responded to ALEBA's requests after several weeks, which could push ALEBA to once again contact the International Labor Organization (ILO - a branch of the UN) to denounce the government's inaction since 2022.

Testimony at the ILO: international recognition

In November 2022, ALEBA brought this case, among other injustices, before the ILO, which confirmed that the current Luxembourg legal framework contravenes trade union rights, including those of ALEBA. The ILO recommended that the government take measures to allow ALEBA to represent all its voters without the restrictions imposed by the current representativeness criteria.

However, despite this international decision in its favour, the laws in force continue to favour national trade unions, depriving not only ALEBA but any other trade union of its right to full representation of its electorate. These reforms are necessary and urgent to guarantee absolute equality between trade unions in collective bargaining.

Conclusion: for a fair and united reform

ALEBA asks to be present at the discussions like its union colleagues, to be a force for proposals in this debate for democracy where all important social actors must be heard. ALEBA intends to present a list of 35 law articles to be reformed to strengthen union representation. These reforms are essential to guarantee true union democracy and respond to the current challenges of the labour market. ALEBA, in a spirit of union solidarity, calls for a strong mobilization for fair legislative reform in favour of all workers. Finally, ALEBA will stand alongside its union colleagues and call on its voters to follow it in its fight for respect for workers and the Luxembourg social model.