Nora Back is preparing to work on a number of issues, each one as urgent as the next. (Photo: Matic Zorman/Maison Moderne)

Nora Back is preparing to work on a number of issues, each one as urgent as the next. (Photo: Matic Zorman/Maison Moderne)

Nora Back, president of the OGBL, presents the major issues to be tackled in the next 12 months and the biggest challenges that lie ahead for her organisation.

What does the OGBL's calendar look like?

Nora Back: We will once again have a lot of work to do. We are still in a special situation with regard to the health crisis, between the pandemic, the exceptional measures that have been put in place by the government--which will come to an end at some point--and an economic recovery that has not yet taken place. It is a waiting game, while we still need to revive the economy, consolidate the internal market, consolidate jobs and protect employees. We will undoubtedly repeat our message stating the need for solidarity between employers and employee representatives to discuss with the government in order to find solutions and get out of this crisis.


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Many are asking for a national tripartite

We have always asked for a national tripartite! It is the ultimate instrument to deal with a crisis. It was written into the law to be used in this context. We are there, so it would be useful and timely to have this exchange and this social dialogue. There have been dialogues and exchanges at several levels throughout the crisis. There have also been tripartite exchanges in certain sectors, so I cannot say that nothing has happened. The start of the new school year will be an opportunity to relaunch the national tripartite, prioritising the fight against the inequalities that existed before the crisis and that have been accentuated by the pandemic.

We have also suffered strong attacks on workers’ rights in the industrial sector.
Nora Back

Nora BackPresidentOGBL

Are some sectors more affected than others?

We can see that the crisis has affected all economic sectors. So, perhaps one sector has been more affected than another... But what is certain is that each sector has been affected in one way or another. Some were hit harder, I'm thinking of the hotel and catering industry, for example. But we have also suffered strong attacks on workers’ rights in the industrial sector. In fact, there are many social conflicts there. We must not forget the essential jobs, which were on the front line. They may not have received the credit they deserved, even if they received applause. In any case, social ‘construction sites’ can be found in all sectors of activity. 

Is youth employment also an issue that concerns you?

We probably don't talk about it enough, but we must indeed also focus on youth employment. Before the pandemic, young people were already experiencing a lot of difficulties with instability, fixed-term contracts and temporary work. We have to emphasise this as well as other issues, such as the problem of false executives, the increase of purchasing power, the project to reform the training of health professionals, inequalities, teleworking, housing, employment in a broader sense, bankruptcies, the government's future fiscal and budgetary policy. So the social rights’ agenda is going to be busy.

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