The country’s biggest trade union argues that the situation has “changed significantly” since the tripartite negotiations and that the agreement between the social partners and the government is “already outdated”. During the tripartite, it was repeated time and time again that all of Luxembourg’s companies are struggling, but it quickly turned out that the situation is “not as black and white” and that certain companies are doing quite well, the OGBL argues.
Above all, the OGBL stresses that sustained inflation will result in the postponement of several salary indexations, something which is “already apparent.” And according to Nora Back, the OGBL’s President, everybody seems to have different ideas about how to handle the situation. Some Employers’ Association representatives have stated that they “want to start from zero,” whereas Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot has stated that no wage indexation will be “cancelled”.
Back slammed previous statements from government representatives that wage indexations should be paid out over several years or that it would be “up to the next government to decide.” While the government’s draft bill specifies that the indexations will “all be paid out,” specifically that they will all be paid out at once in April 2024, Back argues that the OGBL “already knows that this is not going to happen.” “Our biggest issue is that a government is ready to pass a law that they know they won’t follow,” explained the OGBL President.
According to the trade union, it is also “not entirely true” that the tax credit will overcompensate for the loss of purchasing power among those who need it the most. Back pointed out that low-income workers who work overtime or in shifts, as well as single parents will lose money compared to what they would have gotten through wage indexations.
In the past weeks, the OGBL met with representatives of the Left Party (Déi Lénk), the Pirate Party, and the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) to explain their stance. According to the OGBL, it turned out that the opposition parties share many of the trade union’s positions. The OGBL also wants to meet with representatives of the majority parties. A meeting with the Green Party (Déi Gréng) is already scheduled for Wednesday. The OGBL is still waiting for a reply from the Democratic Party (DP) and is looking for a date to meet with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP). However, Nora Back made little attempt to hide the fact that the trade union’s relationship with the LSAP is tense.
