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Luxembourg's social elections of employee representatives on a variety of bodies took place in November 1998. There were few surprises, other than that the CEP trade union may now achieve nationally representative status for private sector white-collar workers, after FEP lost its last support.
November 1998 saw the "social elections" of employee representatives in Luxembourg, with workers voting for their employee committees/works councils (délégations du personnel), and for representatives in their professional chambers (chambres professionnelles) and on the tripartite bodies which run the various health insurance and pension funds (LU9810172F). The results of the elections were announced in December, and there were no great surprises.
The two trade union organisations which are considered "nationally representative" for both blue-collar and white-collar employees in the private sector - the Luxembourg Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (Onofhängege Gewerkschafts-Bond Lëtzebuerg, OGB-L) and the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Lëtzebuerger Chrëschtleche Gewerkschafts-Bond, LCGB) - won the overwhelming majority of seats on employee committees/works councils (approximately 750 out of a total of 1,250). The Luxembourg Association of Bank Staffs (Association luxembourgeoise des employés de banque, ALEBA), which has traditionally been the main union in the banking sector, maintained this position. The recently formed Confederation of Private Sector White-Collar Employees (Confédération des Employés Privés, CEP) obtained almost 100 seats (LU9805162N).
There were no major changes in the election results for professional chambers and sickness funds, except in the bodies for white-collar staff. Here the outcome of the election, in which there was a 41% turnout, was awaited with some interest. As it turned out, seats in the private sector white-collar employees' professional chamber will henceforward be distributed as follows: OGB-L- 12; LCGB - nine; ALEBA - six; CEP - three; and the Union of Private Sector White-Collar Employees (Union des Employés Privés, UEP) - two. In the special "transport" group, the distribution of seats is: the National Federation of Railway and Transport Workers (Fédération Nationale des Cheminots, Travailleurs du Transport, Fonctionnaires et Employés Luxembourgeois, FNCTTFEL) - four; and the Christian Transport Workers' Trade Union (Syndicat des travailleurs du transport chrétiens, SYPROLUX) - two.
The troubled Federation of Private Sector White-Collar Employees (Fédération des Employés Privés, FEP) - until now regarded as having nationally representative status for private sector white-collar workers - lost its final bastion when it failed to win a single seat on the body administrating the pension fund for private sector white-collar staff. Seats on this fund will now be distributed as follows: OGB-L - five; LCGB - four; ALEBA - three; and CEP - three.
It may now be that CEP - which, unlike ALEBA, is not an exclusively sectoral organisation - will achieve nationally representative status for private sector white-collar workers. Only time will tell.