Luxair and unions agree new labour contract

National airline Luxair has signed a new collective agreement with the LCGB and OGBL unions that is set to run until the end of 2027, and which replaces a previous agreement that expired in January last year.

During the protracted negotiations, the unions accused the airline of failing to recognise staff flexibility and dedication in helping Luxair bounce back from the pandemic, carrying a record-breaking 2.5 million passengers in 2023. Luxair, meanwhile, felt the unions’ demands were excessive and failed to recognise how challenging the marketplace remains.

Hundreds of Luxair staff protested outside its head offices in May last year, and the unions this January called on the National Conciliation Office (ONC) to help kick start negotiations that had hit a wall.

The deal

The new contract foresees that cockpit staff will have slimmed-down pay scales in just two categories – one for all captains and the other for first-officers, according to a joint press release from the unions and the airline.

Ground staff and cabin crew will benefit from annual pay progression and protected from backward career steps (whereby taking on more responsibility fails to mean higher pay). Current biennial pay rises for pay grade 25 and above will now be annual instead.

Staff who agreed to help Luxair’s pandemic recovery by accepting a pay freeze for three years from 2021 will now benefit from pay raises dated from 2023 instead of 2024, including back pay from the start of this year.

Other changes include more time off for cabin crew, as well as minimising the number of single days off, the option to use flexitime for entire days, as well as the ability to swap 13th month pay for days off.

The airline and unions have also agreed to set up a joint committee to discuss changes to regulation of flight duty for cabin crew, salary scales for former workers and former employees and the text of the collective work agreement itself.