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Talks had been going on since 2016 and became heated in spring this year. They culminated in demonstrations this summer, when OGBL and LCGB encouraged employees to take to the streets in Luxembourg City and Esch-sur-Alzette.

The collective work agreement, which had already been agreed by all parties in October 2018, was formally signed on 4 December. It will be effective for three years starting 1 January 2019 and aims to improve the working conditions of almost 18,000 employees in the construction sector. They can expect a total increase of 2.4% in salaries, extended over three years: 1% in 2019, 0.7% in 2020 and another 0.7% in 2021. There will be a rise in the end-of-the-year bonus from 5% to 7% and an additional two days off per year.

Workers will now have the right to undergo professional training in order to rise to a more favourable income bracket, without needing approval from their employers. The obligatory continuous professional training for truck drivers will now also be reimbursed.

One of the major disagreements centred around the adaptation of working hours. In October, Roland Kuhn, president of the Federation of Luxembourg Construction and Civil Engineering Companies, told L’Essentiel that employers would have preferred flexible schedules for workers. “This would have allowed us to compensate for the working hours we lose due to bad weather conditions.”

For labour unions, this was completely unviable and the federation had to cede. Nevertheless, despite the compromises, Kuhn was satisfied with the result and said it was “a good agreement.”