Work Time Savings Account to be Introduced for State Employees

Luxembourg's Minister of the Civil Service, Marc Hansen, and representatives of the OGBL union, Christian Sikorski (central secretary), and the LCGB union, Carlo Wagener (deputy union secretary), today signed an amendment to the collective agreement for employees of the Luxembourgish state.

This amendment, which comes into force today and which will extend the effects of the collective agreement until 31 December 2023, is the result of negotiations between the Minister of the Civil Service and union representatives.

During a press conference on Thursday, Minister Marc Hansen paid tribute to the constructive atmosphere and responsibility shown by all stakeholders in during the challenging context of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this amendment, the unions waived financial demands to focus on better working conditions for some 2,500 state employees.

This amendment mainly provides for the introduction of the work time savings account (compte épargne-temps - CET). Set up in the Civil Service in October 2018, the CET will be generalised and adapted to state employees from 1 January 2022. The amendment also provides for adaptations of some provisions of the collective agreement.

During the press conference, the OGBL highlighted the spirit of solidarity of civil service employees with their colleagues in the private sector, who have been particularly affected by the health crisis. The union also congratulated the Minister of the Civil Service and his entire team for their commitment during the negotiations. The introduction of a CET is considered a step forward in the harmonisation of leisure and working time and meets the expectations of state employees. 

The LCGB also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the negotiations and said that it expected constructive collaboration in future.

As of 1 December 2020, there were 2,475 state employees in Luxembourg (a stable workforce since 2015). More than a third worked for the National Roads Administration (622 employees) and the Nature and Forest Agency (247 employees). The majority of state employees were men (58%). The average age of employees was 45.5 years, for an average seniority with the state of 13.2 years.