This is the second in a series of emails about the upcoming social elections, providing you with information about the election of the staff delegation.
These elections will be important for you, as the outcome will directly impact your future working conditions, as the result of the delegation election will have a direct impact on future CWA negotiations! The results of the CWA negotiations in 2019 and in 2023 would not have been possible without the pilots being well represented in the Cargolux Delegation. On the other hand the implementation of a ‘B-Scale’ and Flight Time Limitations based only on legal minimums with the CWA enforced upon the pilots in 2015 was only possible when the pilots were not well represented in the delegation. In order to prevent something similar to the CWA negotiations in 2015, it is important that you also cast your vote in the delegation election.
The Delegation
The staff delegation is the legal body that represents the employees within a company. By law the delegation has to be informed and consulted on issues related to the working conditions of the staff with the intention to improve the working conditions and work safety, to improve on the job training and professional development opportunities and to seek improvements of work-life balance for all staff members, ground staff and pilots alike.
Additionally, to these tasks the result of the most recent delegation election plays an important role in CWA negotiations.
CWA Negotiations
While not being directly involved in the negotiations for a collective work agreement (CWA), the results of the delegation election are used to determine, if a union could sign a CWA alone, even against the will of any other group taking part in the negotiations.
The signing of the 2015 CWA has shown what happens to your terms and conditions if individuals, who were either not pilots or were never elected by the pilots, claim to represent your interests in CWA negotiations. As the result of the delegation election of 2013 had been contested, the previous delegation, elected in 2011, was kept in power until early 2017, when the highest administrative court issued a final ruling that the result of the 2013 election was indeed valid. As the seat distribution in the delegation elected in 2011 was different and the pilots were not adequately represented in the delegation, the labour minister accepted the signing of the present CWA in December 2015 against the clearly expressed will of your representatives. The outcome – unsustainable working conditions, e.g. implementation of the ‘B-Scale’ in 2015 – is still well known to many of you.
What happened in 2015 would most likely not have been possible with a staff delegation at Cargolux in place, which would have ensured that the interests of all employee groups, including those of the pilots, were respected. It took several years and for us pilots a successful delegation election in 2019 for a CWA to be signed in the same year, which removed the “B-Scale” and led to better working conditions for all pilots. The strong presence of pilots in the Cargolux delegation was also crucial to the outcome of the CWA finally signed in December 2023.
The outcome of the CWA negotiations in 2015 should be reason enough for you to participate in the delegation election. Your participation in this election will be essential. Only if you will cast your votes it will be possible to prevent that a future CWA could again be enforced upon us, like the one signed in 2015. To those 132 colleagues who have joined Cargolux since September 2019: Your present terms and conditions would be much different from the conditions you are presently employed under if your fellow colleagues would not have gone the extra mile to vote in the last two delegation elections.
The message is clear: VOTE!
Please also take note of the Knowtam “Social Elections 2024”, the additional information available on www.alpl.lu in the section VOTE, the information previously published and all future publications.
More information about the delegation election will be provided soon, including details how to request postal voting, how to cast your votes by postal voting and your candidates. Please stay tuned and remember: Vote!
