During a picket outside the headquarters of the Inter-Municipal Passenger Transport in the Canton of Esch-sur-Alzette (TICE) on Thursday evening, members of The Left (Déi Lénk) called for the reinstatement of night buses and improved working conditions for staff.
Between 15 and 20 people attended the protest. TICE management was not present.
Party officials stressed the need to restructure TICE, focusing on both route adjustments and staff management. The opposition party heavily criticised the cancellation of night bus services, with Léonie Guskowski, co-speaker of the party's Esch chapter, noting that the service was "more than just a luxury".
Guskowski pointed out that night-shift workers and those finishing late are now forced to take taxis home. She noted that this creates not only logistical challenges but also a financial burden for those affected.
Additionally, Guskowski said the party has received numerous complaints from residents regarding delays since the privatisation of school bus routes.
The party is also calling for route modifications to ensure regular service to key infrastructure, such as hospitals and railway stations.
Staff working conditions were another central focus. The Left co-speaker Carole Thoma pushed back against the narrative that high sick leave rates among staff are intentional. She dismissed the idea that employees are taking sick leave "on purpose to damage their employer" as "despicable".
Thoma argued that severe staff shortages are to blame, preventing workers from taking their mandated rest periods because they are frequently called in to cover for colleagues.
"Obviously this leads to people becoming more stressed; they cannot rest, and because of this, of course, people become sick more frequently", she said.
As part of its "Bring Back The Buses" campaign, The Left recently surveyed TICE users. Around 200 people participated, and Guskowski announced that the results would be presented to the TICE committee that same evening.
"It is time for them to really look at [these results] and realise how badly the situation is deteriorating for people because of their decisions", she stressed.
Carole Thoma and Marc Baum, attending the committee meeting in their capacities as municipal councillors for Dudelange and Esch respectively, formally handed over the survey results.
While some members of the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) joined the protest, the General Federation of Local Government Staff (FGFC) – the majority union at TICE – was absent. FGFC President Marc Reuter told RTL that while the union shares many of the Left Party's demands, participating in the protest was "way too late" since the finalised budget had already been adopted on Thursday evening.
Reuter added that ongoing conciliation talks are progressing well, and the FGFC does not want to jeopardise the negotiations. TICE President Marco Lux has also described the conciliation talks as a "constructive exchange".
Representatives from TICE and the unions are scheduled to meet again at 2pm on Friday.
