Trade union LCGB on Thursday announced that it had approved the various points negotiated with the national airline’s management, the ministry of mobility as well as the other social partners. A pre-tripartite social agreement, which was concluded last month, has now been validated by the different union bodies. 

“We are glad to have reached an agreement,” Paul De Araujo, LCGB union secretary, said. “Obviously, the main aim is to avoid redundancies and guarantee employment. I believe that the creation of a reclassification unit (RDC) is entirely in line with this. And under the present circumstances, it is a really good way to manage excess staff."

Some 700 of Luxair’s 2,950 employees are currently affected by partial unemployment. The decrease in air traffic in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic is forcing the company to reorganize itself and its human resources. 

The agreement, that should be signed this upcoming Monday during the fourth aviation tripartite with the minister for mobility François Bausch (Déi Gréng) and Luxair CEO Gilles Feith, includes a plan for Luxair’s future from 2020 to 2023. During this period, no redundancies for reasons that are not inherent to the individual will be made, and employment will be guaranteed, according to the LCGB. 

A reclassification unit and a training plan

To achieve this, a reclassification unit will be set up for employees affected by structural overstaffing. The aim is to reallocate them either internally at Luxair or externally to other companies, or even to the state or municipalities. 

The ministry of health, for instance, recently temporarily recruited around 50 people to help out with virus contact tracing, the union pointed out. The LCGB also specified that this reclassification unit will be linked to a reinforced training plan. 

“This does not mean that there are 600 people too many at Luxair,“ insisted De Araujo, adding that “half of the 600 employees in question could already take advantage of pre-retirement.”

Finally, the three-year extension of Luxair’s collective labour agreement is also planned, with all of its social benefits except baremic wage increases.

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.