This is the first in a series of articles we will publish to provide you with information about the election of the staff delegation and the members of the Chambre des salariés (CSL). We will provide you with important information why it will be essential that you cast your votes in both elections. This may include information you may be aware.
We urge you to read the information carefully as it will include additional information you may not be aware of, if you have been employed in 2013 while it will be completely new information for the more than 180 colleagues who were hired after April 2013. Please also take note of the first edition of Knowtam “Social Elections 2019”, which has been sent to your home address and is available online following this link. Further information will be available oin the section Social Elections 2019 on this website. Click here to see how to navigate to this section.
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 the ongoing CWA negotiations!
Social Elections – Electing your Staff Delegation and the Chambre des salariés
Every five years, the employees in Luxembourg are called on to participate in the nationwide social elections to elect in two separate elections the members of the staff delegation in their companies and the members of the Chambre des salariés (CSL). The next social elections will take place in March of this year, giving you the opportunity to elect those colleagues who will represent your interests for the next five years.
In this first article we provide information about the CSL, why it will be important that you vote and how you can participate in the CSL election.
The Chambre des salariés
While the election of the staff delegation certainly has a more direct impact on the individual working conditions of an employee, taking part in the election for the CSL is of important as well.
The government must seek the opinion of the CSL on any draft legislation or regulation relating to the country’s economic, financial and social policies. In addition to being involved in the legislative process, the CSL is represented in state advisory bodies, the social insurance institutions and in the labour and social courts. Globalization, digitalization and the continued striving for liberalization are factors that will continue to impact our jobs, making it important that the interests of employees will be continued to be represented in rule making processes in the future.
The CSL Election
In the CSL election you elect the members of the general assembly, which is made up of 60 elected members, divided into 9 professional groups. As a pilot you belong to occupational group 5 “other services” and elect the 14 representatives plus 14 substitutes, in total 28 members, of this group.
Nationally representative union
Additionally, the number of votes a union receives in the election for the CSL determines, if this union is considered to be nationally representative. By participating in the CSL election, you also determine which of the unions are nationally representative.
By law only nationally representative unions can negotiate and sign collective work agreements (CWA) in any company. In order to achieve the status of nationally representative union, a union must have received at least 20% of the votes in the last elections to the CSL. Presently there are only two nationally representative unions, one is the LCGB.
In order to represent your interests in negotiations for a collective work agreement (CWA) as ALPL we need a partner, management must by law accept as negotiating and signatory union in CWA negotiations.
When ALPL was founded more than 50 years ago, the founding fathers of our associations were faced with the question how to make sure, that the association would be able to effectively represent your interest when negotiating with management working conditions for the pilots within the framework of a CWA. After careful considerations and legal advice, it was decided that ALPL needs a strong partner, a nationally representative union to guarantee that our interest will be represented in CWA negotiations.
For many years the LCGB is this strong partner as nationally representative union ALPL cooperates with. The LCGB provided our association the required freedom to represent your interests in CWA negotiations. This means that your ALPL Board is actively involved in CWA negotiations, sitting at the negotiation table representing your interests.
Vote List 2 ‘LCGB’
Based on this fact and the explanations provided above, your ALPL Board recommends that you vote for List 2 the LCGB list by simply marking the circle above List 2 on the ballot with a ‘X’.
Only by maintaining the nationally representative status can we guarantee that our partner union, the LCGB, will be able to negotiate and sign collective work agreements in the future, which will represent our interests.
How do I vote?
The CSL election takes place exclusively by postal voting. The postal voting papers will be mailed to your home address in the coming weeks, without you having to apply for it. The picture below shows a sample of how the envelope you will receive looks.
Information how to mark the ballot, how you have to return the ballot by mail is explained in the Knowtam “Social Elections 2019” and can also be found here. Additionally, we recommend that you watch this short video showing how to mark your ballot and how to return it.
More information about the even more important delegation election will be provided soon. Please stay tuned and remember:
Make your voice heard – Vote!
