Luxembourg railway workers demand respect and reforms

On 11 June 2025, the Chemins de fer trade union held an unprecedented action - a picket outside the administrative building of CFL (Luxembourg National Railway Company). The reason was the growing dissatisfaction of the staff with the management policy and the disappearance of a real social dialogue. About 500 employees gathered at 9:30 a.m. to express their position.

In his speech, union president Georges Melchers detailed the pain points that had accumulated in the collective: the cancellation of the so-called galop shifts, the uncertainty surrounding IG 15 (on-call) conditions of service, the ignoring of recognition of BTS diplomas, the stalling of wage increases, the lack of transparency in appraisals and, most importantly, the lack of dialogue with workers.

One of the main subjects of conflict was the shift pattern. The CFL initially insisted on a 3×8 system, while the union promoted a more balanced 6-9-9 model. It was this model, supported by 90 per cent of the staff surveyed, that was eventually adopted after consultation with the Ministry of Mobility. The union emphasises that this success was made possible solely because of pressure from them, despite the CFL's attempts to attribute it to another union, Syprolux.

David Arlé, chairman of the union's CFL division, voiced other demands: promotions in career categories I, M, A, S, the ability to pass a performance review without necessarily changing positions, a review of operating bonuses, and the advancement of the issue of BTS diploma recognition - which management has not responded to in over a year.

The issue of staff turnover was also raised: why are services in government agencies and the police perceived as more attractive than working on the railway? The union is convinced that even increased bonuses will not solve this problem without systemic changes.