On Tuesday 23 March 2021, the inland shipping company HGK Shipping Lux S.à r.l. (formerly Lehnkering Shipping Lux S. A.) and the LCGB trade union signed a collective agreement for the company's nautical employees.
The agreement will last for a three-year perod, from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2024.
The main improvements and provisions of this agreement include:
- a simplified wage structure: instead of the previous twelve wage groups, there will be a total of five wage groups by 31 March 2022 and only four wage groups from April 2022;
- a 5.8% increase in wages;
- the introduction of wage supplements for professional experience (sailors and skippers);
- the introduction of a wage allowance for patent extension (taxpayers);
- fixed wage adjustments in the event of an automatic extension of the collective agreement beyond 2024;
- vested rights guarantees from the collective agreement expiring on 30 March 2021 remain in place.
According to LCGB, this agreement, and in particular the amended wage model associated with the collective agreement, will enable HGK Shipping Lux to continue to appear as an attractive employer in inland shipping in the future. The union expressed satisfaction with these "constructive discussions".
