LSAP joins forces with unions to oppose government labour reforms

Opposition party LSAP has pledged to “work closely together” with the country’s two largest unions, the OGBL and LCGB, a day after they withdrew from the tripartite negotiations in their current format and said they will no longer participate in a committee overseeing labour and employment matters.

The socialist party issued a joint press release with the unions on Friday afternoon, describing the recent round of social talks as “a farce”.

“The social negotiations organised by the government were a farce, as the outcome of the so-called negotiations had been predetermined by the government. Furthermore, the government was clearly on the side of the employers,” read the statement.

The unions and the LSAP said they would “work closely together” in opposition to the government’s proposals, despite a compromise deal being reached on some points last week. “We oppose any form of deterioration in the organisation of working hours and the weakening of collective agreements,” the statement said.

It came after the OGBL and LCGB said on Thursday they would no longer take part in the Standing Committee on Labour and Employment (CPTE), which examines labour issues, and from now on will only discuss issues bilaterally with the government and the relevant ministers, in a rejection of the existing tripartite format with employers’ representatives. “We are in favour of a tripartite model, but not the way the Frieden government conducted it,” said LCGB President Patrick Dury.

Government response

Economy Minister Lex Delles told RTL on Friday morning that a written agreement at the end of the recent talks would “certainly have made further dealings with the social partners easier.”

Delles said that it was important to bring the parties together after recent months of conflict but admitted: “It is of course true that no one is satisfied with the decisions that emerged, because there was no agreement.”

At the same time, he defended the government’s approach, stating that if no consensus is reached, it is the responsibility of politicians to make decisions.

The employers’ association, Union des Entreprises Luxembourgeoises (UEL), did not respond to a request for comment from the Luxembourg Times, but president Michel Reckinger told RTL that the unions’ announcement on Thursday was “regrettable”.

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated, with editing, adaptation and additional reporting by Lucrezia Reale.)