OGBL and LCGB unions accuse AMMD doctors' association of undermining negotiations
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The conflict in Luxembourg's healthcare system escalated on 21 July 2025 when the two largest trade unions, OGBL and LCGB, issued a strong statement in response to a press release by the AMMD doctors' association. The reason was the AMMD's criticism of the interim agreement between the unions and the Federation of Luxembourg Hospitals (FHL) concerning the working conditions of hospital staff.
The unions were surprised by AMMD's statement, seeing it as a "direct attack" not only on the agreement itself, but also on the principle of collective bargaining. Moreover, according to the authors of the statement, thousands of women and men who work in difficult conditions every day for the functioning of the health care system are at risk.
There was a particularly strong reaction to AMMD's claim that improving staff working conditions "will not benefit patients". The unions called the statement false and insulting to frontline caregivers.
The statement stressed that the whole of Europe is facing a catastrophic shortage of medical staff, which has already led to the closure of emergency departments in neighbouring countries. To ignore this problem in Luxembourg - according to the unions - is "at least irresponsible".
The authors of the statement saw a particular irony in the fact that private doctors, represented by AMMD, themselves use the technical and human resources of public hospitals financed by the community. At the same time, the expenditure of the CNS public insurance on private medicine is growing faster than on budgetary medicine.
The unions also recalled that salary increases for hospital staff are linked to public sector growth rates and are enshrined in Article 28 of the FHL collective agreement. Criticism of this mechanism therefore calls into question the entire agreement.
In a separate reaction, AMMD was accused of a "conflict of interest" due to the presence of employee representatives on the CNS board. The OGBL and LCGB called this absurd, emphasising that social insurance in Luxembourg is financed and administered jointly by employers, employees and the state, with employees bearing the brunt through taxes and contributions.
The unions assured that the agreement with FHL is only the first step. A new round of negotiations will begin in the autumn, aimed at substantially improving working conditions for all professions in the care system. "We will continue to fight for the recognition, respect and improvement of the working conditions of health care workers," say the OGBL and LCGB representatives.
