Is Aleba a sectoral representative union? The issue will be on the agenda of the administrative court this week. The pleadings of the different parties involved--the banking union Aleba on the one hand, labour unions OGBL and LCGB and the labour ministry on the other--will take place on 17 January, before a decision is made four to six weeks later.

The objective of Aleba, which initiated the procedure, is to overturn the decision of former minister of labour  (LSAP), who had withdrawn the status of the Luxembourg banking union as a sectoral representative trade union.

Aleba had lost its absolute majority in the March 2019 elections to the Chamber of Employees (CSL) by obtaining 49.22% of the votes. At the request of the labour unions, Kersch had issued, following the opinion of the Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM), a ministerial decree on 2 March 2021 on the withdrawal.

The argument was that Article 161-7 of the Labour Code requires a representation of 50% of the votes to justify sectoral trade union recognition. Aleba tried to have the order suspended in summary proceedings but was not successful. The case was postponed to 17 January 2023,  when it will be presented before the administrative court.

ILO support

According to lawyer Benoit Entringer, who represents Aleba, the annulment of the minister's decision has a "good chance" of being obtained. "The decision is based on a misinterpretation of the law and is therefore illegal," he said. Moreover, in the absence of a signed and dated document, there is "no proof that an ITM opinion exists,” he argues. As the ministerial order was issued 18 months after the elections, its necessity and urgency is also not evident.

Aleba can now point to a report by the International Labour Organisation published in November 2022 that supports the banking union's claims. The ILO calls on the Luxembourg government to "take the necessary measures [...] to ensure that the most representative union in a sector can fully defend the interests of its members, in particular in the context of the negotiation of the relevant collective agreements.” The organisation says it regrets that the ministerial decree prevents "the union representing the majority of workers in a certain category from taking care of the safeguarding of its members' interests.”

Aleba president , who sees the ministry order as "a political decision" aimed at weakening the union, remains cautious about the administrative court's ruling. "When a decision is political, you can expect anything," he says. Whether the ruling goes one way or the other, the parties will be able to appeal the decision. This is already a very likely outcome.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.