On Tuesday 6 February 2018, the trade unions ALEBA, OGBL and LCGB signed a social plan at D.A.S. Luxembourg S.A.
The ERGO group, the parent company of D.A.S. Luxembourg, had announced at the beginning of January its decision to sell the client portfolio of its Luxembourg subsidiary to ALLIANZ Benelux SA which wanted to retain only the workforce of the Claims department, i.e. 9 people, leaving another 15 employees withpout a future, some of whom have worked there for more than 20 years.
As a result of the negotiations by the unions as well as an open social dialogue with the ERGO Chairman of the Board:
• One more employee, 10 in total, has been transferred to ALLIANZ;
• Favourable and dignified conditions of departure have been negotiated and accepted, in addition to the minimum legal requirements, such as: an additional one-time payment for the employees as a result of the liquidation of D.A.S. Luxembourg, extra-legal compensation, compensation linked to employees' family situation, and finally a large training / outplacement budget;
• Employees with the status of "senior manager" (i.e. in principle not covered by the social plans) have also been able to integrate in the social plan, and thus benefit from the same conditions as the agreed employees.
Safouane Jaouid, Head of Legal of ALEBA, said: "On the side of ALEBA we are proud, in these always difficult circumstances, to have been able to implement a social plan of this quality, in favour of employees who lose their jobs. I also hope that this plan will serve as a reference in the insurance sector, and that if other companies were to consider tomorrow the economic cuts in positions, they will also be able to assume their social responsibility."
ALEBA has commented that once again, on the Luxembourg market, workers are paying the price for international strategies, in a race for profit that ignores the dramatic human consequences for dismissed employees.
