Cargolux

In this Debrief edition we provide our members with an update about the last negotiation meetings, which took place on 06 and 15 June 2023 and where we stand in these negotiations. Additionally, a meeting at the ONC was scheduled on 07 June 2023.

The negotiations are ongoing and we still see only little movement of management´s position in regard to our high priority claims. Please take a few minutes of your time to watch this update and get mentally prepared that at some point your support and active engagement as a member might be needed to achieve an acceptable agreement!

The level of safety within the aviation industry has continuously been improved over the last decades and therefore only few pilots are involved in serious incidents or accidents. 
 
Fortunately, the vast majority will be spared from such events throughout their career, nonetheless we have experienced first-hand how quickly it can happen. Whilst we all are trained to handle non-normals in the simulator on a regular basis, only little knowledge exists about the processes that are set in motion once all checklists have been completed and the aircraft has been parked.
 
Hence, we would like to remind you that ALPL has an established Flight Safety Committee, which can provide you as a member with the required information and support. Not only have they published Incident and Accident Guidelines, but there is also an Emergency Hotline which is available 24/7 on 365 days of the year.
 
Please click here to get more information on this topic. We recommend making use of this support system whenever it is required and to save the Emergency Hotline phone number in your contacts.
 
Finally, we would like to inform you that our colleagues, who have been involved in recent events and reached out to us are getting all the required support they have asked for.
 
Fly safe!

In this Debrief edition we provide our members with an update about the last negotiation meetings, which took place on 25 and 26 May 2023 and where we stand in these negotiations.

The negotiations are ongoing and we still see a significant gap between the positions of the Unions and management in regard to our high priority claims. 

Please take a few minutes of your time to watch this update and get mentally prepared that at some point your support and active engagement as a member might be needed to achieve an acceptable agreement!

On 05 May 2023 another meeting at the Office National de Conciliation (ONC) took place.

The Unions LCGB and OGBL as well as management provided the president of the ONC with an update on the ongoing CWA negotiations and the status of the priority claims since the conciliation process has started.

Referring to Cargolux management’s decision to contest the competence of the ONC on 24 March 2023, the president of the ONC made a clear statement that irrespective of the ongoing legal proceedings, the conciliation process is continuing.

Despite the more active engagement of the management negotiation team and the progress made in certain areas concerning work – life – balance, there is no or only little movement on many major union claims.

The next meeting at the ONC is scheduled for the 07 June 2023. Until then further negotiation meetings are planned to find acceptable solutions on the following 8 priority claims identified by the ONC:

• Salary increase and index protection (common claim)
• Harmonization of night supplements (pilots’ claim)
• New Salary Scale (ground-staff claim)
• Structured feedback (management claim)
• Disciplinary process (common claim)
• Job Security including ICV and refleeting (common claim)
• Working from home (ground-staff claim)
• Time accounts (ground-staff claim)

Following the involvement of the ONC on 24 March 2023 and the start of the conciliation process, additional negotiation meetings have been scheduled in April 2023.

In this Debrief edition we provide our members with an update about the last meetings, which took place on 18 and 28 April 2023 and where we stand in these negotiations.

Following the meeting held on 24 March 2023, the ONC accepted the case for conciliation on the ongoing CWA negotiations, which has been confirmed in writing. Please click here to read the document.
 
Beginning this week, the Unions were informed that Senior Management will contest the ONC’s decision at the Administrative Court. This however does not automatically stop the ONC process.

In order to continue the negotiations within the ONC process the Union requested to have meeting dates before the next meeting at the ONC, which is scheduled on 5 May 2023, to report the progress. Three dates were agreed upon and the first meeting took place on 18 April 2023 where the priority Common Claims were once again negotiated including some items that Cargolux Management had claimed. In this meeting both Unions clearly stated that the ONC process has commenced despite management`s actions that were taken.

Items that appear to have some closure are a Part-Time Scheme for ground staff, and from management claims Single Day Sick Leave and Unfair Dismissal.

Unfortunately, management is refusing any counter proposal on a Salary Increase including Index Protection and Job Security that includes the future re-fleeting, Cargolux Italia and potential outsourcing due to restructuring of the Cargo Center in Luxembourg.

The next meetings are scheduled on 28 April 2023 to discuss Pilot specific claims and 2 May 2023 for the Ground Staff related claims.

We would like to inform you that on 24 March 2023 the meeting at the Office National de Conciliation (ONC) took place. 

After both parties presented their case, the ONC has acknowledged the impasse between the Unions and management. The ONC is now officially involved and has scheduled another meeting at the beginning of May in order to be informed of the progress of the negotiations. 

The law foresees a minimum of 16 weeks of dialogue within the conciliation process. Only if no agreement would be reached within this time, either party could request a “non-conciliation”.

The acknowledged impasse by the ONC is also a clear signal to management to put more effort into finding an agreeable solution and to move away from their stalling tactics. From now on we expect management to sincerely negotiate all our claims and concerns to achieve true social sustainability.

The Unions communicated to management already that they are available to meet for further negotiations to find acceptable solutions until the next ONC meeting in May.

Please find below an update concerning:

• Cybersecurity Testing 
• Company Email
• CWA Negotiations
• Index Increase
• Cargolux Refleeting Survey

Cybersecurity Testing
Since already more than one year the IT Department is sending test emails to employees that consist of false phishing emails, which should be reacted on accordingly.

As all employees are affected by these tests, the issue was taken up by the Delegation and discussed with Senior Management already in the Joint Delegation Meeting back in December 2021. In that meeting a representative of the IT Department stated, that educating and increasing the sensibility of all employees regarding this matter is one of their top priorities. Unfortunately, management was not willing to stop sending test email

Whilst cybersecurity is indeed important and of common interest, we generally disapprove procedures of artificial traps that are being applied. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to prevent management form sending testing emails. We recommend to forward any email you think could be a spam or phishing attempt, preferably via the hoxhunt app available in the MS Outlook app on your company provided iPad or via email to cybersec@cargolux.com.

Company Email
In a recent email from the CV IT Department, employees have been made aware of changes on the procedures all employees must follow if they intend to use private mobile phones to access the company’s IT systems, including accessing your company email account only via the MS Outlook app. 

Due to the communicated restrictions, the associated complexity and therefore possible high error rate we strongly recommend removing the Cargolux email account from all private devices, if you don’t want to use the mandatory MS Outlook app. In case of any doubt it may be best not to use a private device to access Cargolux related websites and applications including your Cargolux email account.

We also recommend using the company provided iPad only for any duty related tasks and to only switch it on when required, e.g. before starting a Duty Period. Please click here to read the iPad policy for more information. 

CWA Negotiations
In our last members update concerning the CWA negotiations we mentioned that both Unions have decided to involve the Office National de Conciliation (ONC) in the current labor negotiations. This move is a step foreseen in the Luxembourgish labor law to solve the impasse and to find an acceptable agreement within a certain time. Additionally, involving the ONC is a legal prerequisite before industrial action could be called by a Union in Luxembourg.

We keep you informed about any further developments. Until the first meeting at the ONC takes place, no further meetings will be held between management and the Unions. The first meeting at the ONC must take place within 6 weeks of sending the request to the ONC. 

Index Increase
The increase of the annual inflation rate in January 2023 triggered a new indexation. Thus, the new sliding scale index of 898,93 points (old index: 877,01 points) came into force on 1 February 2023, resulting in a 2,5% increase in wages, salaries, and pensions. You should have seen that salary increase on your February salary slip. 

The next index increase of 2,5% is foreseen in April 2023. This is the increase that was postponed last year in August following the national tripartite.

Cargolux Refleeting Survey
We would like to thank you for having completed the recent Cargolux Refleeting Survey. More than 90% of our members took part in this survey, which gives us solid data of what will be important for our members in the future refleeting process. 

We are also glad that your input is backing up our arguments and claims that we already brought up in the negotiations in this context, which confirms our initial assessment of what our members expect. We will continue to represent your interests in the negotiations and strive for an agreement that reflects your expectations.

We would like to inform you that the LCGB decided together with the OGBL to take the next step in the CWA negotiations and initiate the conciliation process, as defined in the Luxembourgish labor law. Thus, a letter to the Office National de Conciliation (ONC) was sent by both Unions on 17 February 2023 asking for their involvement in the current labor negotiations in Cargolux. 
 
The basis of this decision lies in the still unresolved disagreement in multiple key claims between the two parties. After being in the 6^th month of negotiations in which we attended 15 meetings we haven’t made any progress except on some smaller claims and clarifications.
 
From the beginning, your negotiation team together with the Unions were fully prepared and willing to engage into serious talks with the aim to reach an agreement in a timely manner. While we are striving for an acceptable solution, we are always keeping in mind the mandate we received from you!
 
At the same time and to avoid any further escalation, we see an urgent necessity for management to stop their stalling-strategy and to give the negotiation-process the priority it deserves. The involvement of the ONC serves the purpose to find acceptable solutions for the identified problems and concerns and to solve the impasse.
 
We will keep you informed about any further development.