Luxembourg trade union LCGB has called for the rapid implementation of a national and sustainable solution to ongoing disputes between employees and the management of Sodexo retirement homes.

For more than a year, the social trade union has been seeking a solution to the disagreements between employees and the management of Sodexo's "An de Wisen" care homes, "Les Parcs du Troisieme Age" in Bertrange and "ZithaSenior" regarding the application of the CCT FHL for the personnel engaged in these establishments. According to information from the LCGB, the Luxembourg government is currently working on a financing a solution to resolve the dispute satisfactorily for the employees concerned.

Firstly, the LCGB has pointed out its view that the search for a solution regarding "An de Wisen" had already been announced in February 2017 by the Minister of Social Security. And yet, no solution had been found, paving the way for social conflict in a sector largely financed by public funds. The LCGB therefore places a certain responsibility on the state as the direct financer of the sector.

In this regard, the LCGB has recalled that a transitional solution was made available for the Hospice Civil de Hamm following the organisation of an LCGB picket protest for the fair treatment of all the employees employed under the modalities of the CTC FHL. This transitional solution provides for the financing of the additional cost incurred by CCT FHL compared to CCT SAS by the City of Luxembourg. The other nursing homes concerned remain to this day without a viable solution.

For the LCGB, having recently submitted its position in writing to the Minister of Social Security, a national and sustainable solution is the only defensible track in this context and must be negotiated between all the actors concerned. This, according to the trade union, is the sole guarantor to allow full financing of the additional cost incurred by the CCT FHL compared to the CCT SAS and this in a common and fair manner for all employees engaged under the provisions of the CCT FHL in the health care institutions concerned.

Ultimately, the LCGB has claimed that this solution, in the interests of the employees concerned, must be implemented as quickly as possible in order to prevent the social conflict that is currently unfolding in the sector.