Luxembourg trade unions prepare for confrontation with authorities
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The planned reform of working hours in the retail and catering sector, presented by Economy Minister Lex Delles, is causing a wave of discontent from workers and trade unions. Under the project, Luxembourg could get the most liberal rules in the region, which will lead to a deterioration of working conditions and ruin the personal lives of thousands of workers.
Shops will now be able to operate from Monday to Friday from 5:00 to 22:00, and from 5:00 to 19:00 on weekends and public holidays. Of the 11 official holidays, only three will remain mandatory closing days - New Year's Day, 1 May and Christmas Day. The rest will be regular working days.
In addition, a new regime of 'on duty' holiday evenings is being introduced, where some shops are allowed to open until 6pm and others until 7pm.
The expansion of Sunday labour from 4 to 8 hours a day is a particular source of discontent. In the future, Sunday will de facto become a working day, without compensation or collective bargaining, as it used to be.
The cherry on the cake is the double yearly authorisation for 24-hour operation, which will further increase the workload of employees.
The unions emphasise that more and more evenings, weekends and holidays will be taken away from workers and their families. Women and cross-border workers, who make up the majority of workers in the sector, will be particularly affected. The increased workload, combined with long journeys, will lead to increased stress, poor health and staff attrition.
The competitive balance is also disturbed: big retail chains will benefit from the new rules, while small businesses and local artisans risk not being able to compete.
In addition, the reform destroys existing collective bargaining agreements by removing incentives for employers to enter into additional agreements with employees.
The OGBL and LCGB unions believe that the reform is a setback to social regression and emphasise: in 2018, a survey showed that the majority of workers do not want to work on Sundays and late at night.
OGBL and LCGB declared their readiness to start syndicalised protests. According to them, the government has ignored social dialogue by taking decisions without consulting the unions, and this may be only the first step towards further increases in working hours for all categories of workers.
The unions call for mobilisation of all workers, to follow the delegates' announcements and to support future protest actions. As the leaflet emphasises: "Together we are strong".
