Following the Manifestation Nationale, organised by Luxembourg’s main trade unions, OGBL, LCGB and ALEBA, which took place in Luxembourg City on Saturday 28 June 2025, the OGBL and LCGB have published the contents of a letter sent to Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden.
The letter, dated Monday 30 June 2025, confirmed the participation of both the OGBL and LCGB in a meeting with the Government on Wednesday 9 July 2025, under the provision of the return to the tripartite social model and that the meeting agenda be amended to include the following:
1. In relation to Collective Agreements, the OGBL and LCGB request a formal written commitment which confirms that:
⁃ the Government will maintain the prerogative of nationally representative trade union organisations to negotiate and sign collective agreements;
⁃ the Government will maintain the content of collective agreements as currently provided for by the Labour Code;
⁃ the Government abandons its plan to introduce the conclusion of company agreements without nationally representative trade union organisations.
2. In relation to Sunday Work and Opening Hours in Commerce, the OGBL and LCGB demand that:
⁃ the bill currently being legislatively submitted confirms that the extension of working time from four to eight hours can only be achieved through the negotiation of a collective agreement or an inter-professional agreement;
⁃ the bill currently being legislatively submitted be amended to maintain the existing opening hours and limit the possibility of their extension to the conclusion of collective bargaining or an inter-professional agreement.
3. With regards to the level of the Social Minimum Wage and within the framework of the bill currently being legislatively submitted, the OGBL and LCGB demand:
⁃ the abandonment of any political attempt to change the method for calculating the adequacy of the social minimum wage in relation to the poverty risk threshold;
⁃ a negotiation on the adaptation of the existing social minimum wage so that it finally exceeds the poverty risk threshold.
4. On the subject of Pension Reform, the OGBL and LCGB demand:
⁃ three-way negotiations on all the avenues detailed in their joint union memo entitled, "Strengthening the statutory pension for all: Union analyses and demands regarding the sustainability of the general pension insurance scheme”.
In the letter, both unions also emphasised that redressing the “critical” financial situation of health and maternity insurance would require direct negotiations between the Government and its social partners.
Moreover, the unions noted: “Following the participation of more than 25,000 people in our joint demonstration on Saturday 28 June 2025 and taking into account the 75,000 members represented by the OGBL and LCGB Trade Unions, we demand that our commitment and daily work in the service of the employees and pensioners of this country be taken seriously and receive the respect it deserves.”
