Luxembourg trade union OGBL has criticised the new agreement on public sector wages

The OGBL union has expressed its dissatisfaction with the new State Wage Agreement, which it has learnt about from the media. As the organisation points out, it has been excluded from these negotiations for decades, despite the fact that in a number of sectors linked to the agreement (CFL, municipal workers, health, social services) it is OGBL that is the largest union.

Despite this, the union presented its proposals to the Minister of Public Administration, Serge Wilmes, in October 2024. The OGBL recognises that the signed agreement implements some of its long-standing demands, particularly in the education sector. Among the key changes are the abolition of the reduced overtime pay rate for teachers (they will now be paid at the same rate as regular hours) and improved disciplinary protection for civil servants, which will provide greater stability in the first 10 years of employment.

However, the union believes that the agreement does not solve the problem of the two-tier pay system, where there are different "point value" rates for civil servants and municipal workers. The OGBL insists on a single pay system for all workers in the public sector and municipalities.

The union also criticises the size of the wage increase. The agreement includes a 2.5 per cent "point value" increase in two stages, although larger figures have previously been discussed in the press. OGBL had proposed a 5 per cent increase for the first 200 points, which would have significantly increased wages for lower C and D category staff, but this option was not considered.

In addition, the agreement fails to address key issues that OGBL considers necessary:

• Establishment of elected staff delegations in the public sector,
• bonus for employees with diplomas above the required level,
• Increased payments for work on the PhD programme in secondary schools,
• raising the status of professionals with a BTS diploma or master's title.

The OGBL also recalled that many points of the previous agreements have not yet been implemented. Among them are harmonisation of salaries for junior categories, restoration of early retirement rights for shift workers, access to telecommuting and revision of working hours (this issue has been open since 2019). The union is demanding that the new agreement be quickly implemented not only at the state level, but also for municipal and CFL employees.

The OGBL was particularly angered by the government's policy of excluding the union from the negotiations. Minister Wilmes never contacted the OGBL before signing the agreement. This contrasts with the pre-2020 practice of holding information meetings with the various unions before signing. Even the previous minister, Marc Hansen, notified the OGBL before publicly announcing the agreements, which Wilmes did not do.

An additional concern is the clause that sectoral negotiations should be conducted with CGFP sub-organisations. OGBL fears that its affiliated unions in the municipal sector, education, police, airport, psychosocial sector could be excluded from the dialogue. If this happens, the union promises to categorically oppose such a decision.

OGBL emphasises that tens of thousands of workers depend on the agreement, but their interests have not been represented. These include municipal employees, public sector workers, CFL employees, health care workers and social workers. In most of these areas, the OGBL is the largest union and its exclusion from the negotiations undermines the credibility of the dialogue between the state and the unions.

The organisation said it would not give up its demand for global negotiations across the public sector, in which it must participate on an equal footing with other unions.