On Thursday 4 February 2021, the OGBL and LCGB trade unions, the ALEBA banking union and the Luxembourg Bankers Association (ABBL) participated in the fourth negotiation meeting for the renewal of the collective labour agreement for the banking sector.
Regarding remuneration, the OGBL and the LCGB presented their two main demands, namely a guarantee of salary developments according to salary scales and a linear increase for all employees.
The issue of “false managers" quickly emerged - a situation which the OGBL and LCGB unions have been fighting to regulise within the collective labour agreement framework. According to the unions, this issue is directly related to that of the salary scale, knowing that the latter are paid individually and thus outside the scale.
Meanwhile, the ABBL reportedly refused any salary increase or improvement that would recognise the "daily commitment of employees". The bankers association even threatened to call into question the 13th month bonus if an agreement was not reached on remuneration. The OGBL and the LCGB have deemed such a proposal unacceptable.
The unions warned against using the COVID-19 health crisis "to take employees hostage" and deny them any financial improvements over the next three years.
The meeting ended without an agreement being reached.
The next meeting is scheduled for 25 February 2021.
