Nicolas Léonard: The hearing on Thursday before the administrative tribunal is a first step, but it is not the only one. How is Aleba responding to the decision taken in March by Dan Kersch, the labour minister?
Roberto Mendolia: As a reminder, following a claim filed by the LCGB and OGBL unions, the minister of labour withdrew our status as sectoral representative from us, in the capacity of a union of banking and insurance employees [Editor’s note: Aleba acquired the designation as sectoral representative, meaning it could negotiate sector-wide collective bargaining agreements, following social elections in 2005 and again in 2019, although Aleba obtained only 49.22% of the vote]. It was a decision that shocked us and that we contest, taken after an investigation by the [labour inspectorate] ITM built around 12 simplistic questions such as ‘what is your budget?’, ‘what is your role?’... We were not heard, we couldn’t defend ourselves. Therefore, we have filed a request for an emergency interim injunction to suspend the decision, which will be the subject of this hearing, pending a judgment on the merits, which was the subject of another lawsuit because of the prejudice against us. Finally, we have also appealed to the International Labor Organization.
Do you think that union representation is biased in Luxembourg?
It’s a fact. I have noted no less than 34 laws where, curiously, the name of sectoral union has been omitted. This systematically puts national unions, such as the LCGB and the OGBL, in a position of strength. Some texts are even surreal. Thus, it takes 20% of members of the Chamber of Employees in order to be a national union. So if one day there are 10 unions in Luxembourg with 10% of the members, there will be... no more national unions.
But in reality, we must speak of real discrimination via these laws which benefit national unions, for example with regard to the release of delegates.
Another example: when the Economic and Social Committee studies the issue of teleworking, the national unions are invited, but not us. However, we represent a very important sector where 95% of employees telework. It is as unbelievable as it is unfair. We are outright excluded.
When I found this out when I became chairman in 2019, I was flabbergasted. This is why our legal actions are far more important than the Aleba case alone. The real issue is that of trade union freedom and representativeness in this country.
Why do people have it in for Aleba?
There are a lot of political games behind all of this... And politics is the cancer of trade unionism. Aleba is inconvenient, because it works for people, obtains things, stands up for them. Sectoral representative status does not appeal to everyone. We represent nearly 50% of the employees in the financial centre, but they want to push us aside. But we are not the only ones in this case. One day, the Luxembourg Airline Pilots Association will be dismissed from the table when discussing the aviation sector, because it is not a national union. Yes, we will end up discussing the aviation sector without the pilots being represented, that is what we are going towards in Luxembourg.
Was it the signing of a collective bargaining agreement in principle for the banking sector with the Luxembourg banking association (ABBL) that really set things off?
But nothing was ever signed! We had reached an agreement to start negotiating, that’s all. We never wanted to go it alone. But others saw an opportunity to exclude us. No doubt because we had made significant progress on many points.
In fact, before, no one wanted to talk to us, but everyone has wanted to since the minister made his decision.
Does Aleba, despite this situation, continue to work on other issues?
We have always negotiated for people and no one can deny that Aleba has improved collective agreements, on the 26th day of annual leave, on telecommuting costs. We want to move forward, not hold discussions for hours in plenary on where to place a comma [in a text] for political reasons. There are other urgent matters at the moment in our sector.
While we have been in discussions for a long time and things have been obtained, others want to impose a third set of comprehensive demands and threaten to no longer negotiate. For my part, I took my responsibilities and said that I, in any case, would continue to negotiate.
Are you no longer on the same side?
Yes, obviously and fortunately, we often come together again during negotiations. But there are also things that we oppose also, that’s clear. In any case, Aleba has clear demands and will stick to them.
The departure of Laurent Mertz from his post as secretary general was bad news in the middle of this situation. Who will replace him?
Laurent was a valued, experienced person, and his departure is obviously difficult. I want to give myself time to choose the right person. They will have to correspond to our mold, be comfortable in their role, bring ideas and be a proactive driver of change, who will be able to express themself easily... There are several candidates and that is a very good thing, but I do not want to act in haste.