OGBL accuses government of attacking labour rights

Social tensions are rising in Luxembourg: following Prime Minister Luc Frieden's State of the Nation address, trade unions have spoken of a "break with tradition" and are calling for a mass protest on 28 June.

The president of the Independent Confederation of Luxembourg Trade Unions (OGBL), Nora Back, called the Prime Minister's speech disappointing in an interview with RTL and expressed concern that the government is no longer seeing trade unions as equal partners.

A key claim is the undermining of tripartism, a historically important mechanism for Luxembourg in which the state, employers and trade unions jointly shape social policy. According to Back, Frieden's statement that "dialogue does not necessarily mean joint decision-making" is a rejection of real negotiation and equal participation.

The unions were particularly angered by the prime minister's words about keeping Sunday as a day off. Beck argues that these statements are manipulative, as the government plans to expand Sunday employment opportunities by circumventing collective bargaining obligations.

"There will be no real freedom to refuse to work on Sunday - the pressure on workers is too great," Beck emphasises. The new regulations, she says, make Sunday work the norm, destroying the day's status as a time for rest and recuperation.

The OGBL is also concerned about the lack of guarantees to preserve the exclusive rights of unions to sign collective agreements. According to Beck, the Prime Minister's address merely reiterated the previous vague promises made by Labour Minister Georges Mischo seven months ago. There were no concrete steps.

This, according to the union, puts the influence and power of employee representatives at risk, especially in key sectors.

The unions were no less keen to hear statements about the future of the pension system. For the first time, Luc Frieden openly recognised that in the future people will have to work longer hours for a full pension. This, as Nora Back stated, crosses a red line - especially for the younger generations.

Moreover, she called the government's approach to supporting the poor a substitution of concepts: instead of structural solutions, it is another form of social assistance that only masks the absence of real reform.

Nora Back called for a national mobilisation on 28 June, confirming that the OGBL will continue to cooperate with the country's other major trade union, the LCGB. This is not only about defending current rights, but also about preventing the dismantling of a social model that has provided stability and fairness in Luxembourg's labour sphere for decades.