Credit: OGBL
On Monday 4 December 2023, Ampacet Europe SA issued a statement in response to accusations against its management since workers at the Dudelange plant went on strike more than one week ago.
Ampacet Luxembourg employees have been on strike since Monday 27 November 2023. According to the OGBL trade union, the strike is a matter of defending the workers' collective agreement. The union accused the firm's management of "trying to break the strike with legal attacks of by sending temporary workers to replace the strikers" and described such actions as "a declaration of war", not only on employees but on collective agreements in general and Luxembourg's social model as a whole. The OGBL called for solidarity with the striking workers.
In response, Ampacet Europe clarified in its statement that the firm has "not hired any temporary workers since the strike started, nor [has it] reduced the salaries of [its] staff to the legal minimum". The firm argued that it had "engaged in good-faith discussions, respecting labour laws" with union representatives since March 2023. Nevertheless, talks over the renewal of the collective agreement broke down.
Without going into further detail, Ampacet noted that the "final offer" it presented to the ONC national conciliation office was "significantly higher than what has been reported in the media by OGBL".
The firm also stressed that it "respect[s] any employee who chooses to exercise their right to strike, but [it] cannot condone acts of defamation, intimidation and unlawful behaviour of any kind". It claimed that employees who chose not to strike (about one-third of total staff) were being "intimidated and verbally assaulted" when arriving at work. Similarly, suppliers and clients were being "blocked at the site entrance", the firm said.
Ampacet concluded by referring to its plans to "add more colour production capabilities at the Dudelange site" despite the "challenging market conditions" this year, which "significantly impacted" its plant in Dudelange, and the "similarly challenging" outlook for economic growth in Europe for 2024.
