Luxembourg
Key Facts
| Population | 524,853 |
|---|---|
| Collective Bargaining Coverage | 50% |
| Proportion of Employees in Unions | 41% |
| Principal Level of Collective Bargaining |
Industry and company (varies with sector) |
| Workplace Representation |
works council/employee delegates (with employee delegates planned to replace the works council in 2013) |
| Board-level Representation |
yes: state-owned and private companies |
| Company Board Structure |
monistic |
Sources: see individual country sections; where a range of figures has been quoted, the lower number has been taken
Trade Unions
Union density in Luxembourg is relatively high at around 40% of the workforce. There are two main union confederations, OGB-L and LCCB, with affiliates across the bulk of the economy. The two have ideological differences, although they co-operate fairly closely both at national and European level. There are also other important union groupings in the specific sectors of finance and the public service and one of the public sector confederations, the CGFP is, like the OGB-L and LCCB, represented in the national tripartite structures.
more ...Collective Bargaining
The key levels of bargaining are at industry and company level, and the relative balance between the two varies from industry to industry. There are precise rules on what must be included in agreements and who can sign them, although in practice not all the agreements include all the issues. There is also pressure to reach a settlement without conflict, with conciliation built in.
more ...Workplace Representation
There are currently two main bodies representing employees at the workplace, one dealing with employees’ day-to-day concerns and the other – in larger workplaces only – a joint employer/employee body intended to improve industrial relations in the workplace. Unions have important rights in this structure and the majority of employee representatives are union members. However, this whole structure is set to change, with legislation abolishing the joint body and giving greater powers to employee representatives being introduced in 2013.
more ...Board-level Representation
Companies with more than 1,000 employees or with a substantial state involvement, either through ownership or state aid, must have employee representatives at board level. They generally have a third of the seats.
more ...European-level Representation
European representatives from Luxembourg are chosen by the employee delegations. In most cases they must be employees, but this is not the case for the members of an SNB for a European Company, where union officials can also be chosen.
more ...Health and Safety Representation
Health and safety is one of the issues covered by the two main forms of employee representation in Luxembourg – the employee delegation and the joint company committee, a works council type body on which both employees and the employer are represented. The employee delegate for safety, an individual employee chosen by the employee delegation, has the most specific health and safety responsibilities. But some health and safety issues are decided by the joint company committee.
more ...Financial Participation
In Luxembourg, no particular legal structures to facilitate or regulate the introduction of profit-sharing and employee share ownership schemes or tax incentives exist. Nevertheless, different forms of employee financial participation are common in practice.
more ...