Constructive

For the first time in months, Luxembourg's social partners sat down together in the Standing Committee of Labour and Employment (CPTE) on Wednesday. The word used afterwards, by nearly everyone, was "constructive."[1]

That word carries weight here. Two years ago, the first scandal rocked the CPTE. In autumn 2025, trade unions walked out of the committee altogether, accusing the government of trying to marginalise their role in collective bargaining. The committee, a cornerstone of Luxembourg's social dialogue model, had effectively stopped functioning.[1]

Minister of Labour Marc Spautz said the talks continued "in the spirit of Senningen," referring to the tripartite talks held in early June. The agenda included platform work, collective agreements, and wage justice.[1]

On platform work, there was genuine movement. The social partners agreed that platform work represents a new labour model, and that platform workers should receive an employment framework and social security rather than being left in what LCGB president Patrick Dury called "a new modern form of slavery." The partners are now working on the appropriate legal wording.[1]

On collective agreements, both unions and employers concurred that more are needed, and that expanding them would improve wage transparency. Michel Reckinger, president of the UEL employers' association, noted that current labour laws are overly strict and full of prohibitions, and that many of these decisions would be better handled within collective agreements rather than imposed by legislation.[1]

Nora Back, president of the OGBL, was more cautious. She acknowledged that no concrete results have been achieved yet, but said the unions' concerns were heard. The unions, she said, remain vigilant.

"Constructive" is not the same as "resolved." But after months of silence, the fact that everyone is back in the room, using the same word to describe the conversation, is something. In Luxembourg's consensus-driven model, that is often the first step.