The OGBL in 5 points

The OGBL is the leading trade union in Luxembourg in terms of the number of women and men members (more than 70,000) and the number of votes obtained in the social elections in companies (in 2019: 1,972 effective delegates and 1,800 substitutes) and in the Chambre des Salariés – CSL (since 2019: 35 out of 60 seats).

It is the union of women and men, who work or have worked in the various economic sectors, in small or large companies, in the private or public sector and who live in any region of Luxembourg or across borders.

It respects you, listens to you, informs you, represents your interests and defends them in the event of a problem with the employer, a body or an institution of the social security. The expert women and men working at the Service Information, Conseil et Assistance – SICA are at your service in our 18 offices in Luxembourg (7), Belgium (4), France (4) and Germany (3). The specialists at the service of the 16 professional syndicates, which cover all sectors, guarantee your achievements as well as good working conditions and remuneration by negotiating some 200 collective work agreements in companies and sectors.

The professionals assigned to the 7 departments intervene in a wide range of committees, commissions and associations to ensure that the specific demands of the members they represent are heard, i.e. women, young people, pensioners, immigrants, disabled workers, civil servants and public employees, salaried employees. The leaders of the local sections in Luxembourg and of the border sections ensure that the concerns of the members are heard where they live.

It is financed solely by the contributions of its members and can therefore afford to defend exclusively the professional, social and economic rights and interests of its members, as well as those of employees in general, whether they are active or retired. Benefiting from national representativeness, the OGBL is one of the main actors of the Luxembourg social dialogue between the government, employers and employees and thus constitutes a major counter-power.

It prefers solutions through dialogue, but it does not hesitate to mobilize against unjust measures such as, for example, the social dismantling by the government in 2009, an anti-social Europe in 2010, the destruction of jobs in the steel industry in 2011, the decline of public education in 2012, the deterioration of working conditions and remuneration at Luxair in 2013, the unfair treatment of cleaning sector personnel in 2014, the desire to dismiss at Hëllef Doheem in 2015, unjust careers in the health, care and social sector in 2016, the refusal to negotiate a redundancy plan at the Edmond de Rothschild bank in 2017, the deterioration of pay conditions and flexible working hours in the construction sector in 2018, the failure to meet the climate targets set in the Paris agreement and social injustice. This list is non-exhaustive in terms of objectives, years and number of events.

The OGBL knows that the world is changing and that it is necessary to update its demands in order to face the evolutions that affect the lives of workers in one way or another.

The OGBL is an interconnected trade union that fights against social exclusion, poverty, discrimination, racism and intolerance either in Luxembourg, in Europe or in the world.

It is a member of the European Trade Union Confederation – ETUC and affiliated to the International Trade Union Confederation – ITUC.

In the border region, it plays a leading role in the Trade Union Council of the Greater Region – CSIGR and participates in the EURES Greater Region network and in the work of the Economic and Social Committee of the Greater Region – CESGR.

And as the OGBL is convinced that the well-being of populations elsewhere, far from Luxembourg, concerns it perfectly, given that the close economic links, the fruits of globalization, imply a certain responsibility and therefore a certain social commitment towards other peoples, it created in 2001 the NGO OGBL Solidarité syndicale.