Agricultural machinery mechanic

Duration of the Agreement

The Collective Agreement will take effect on 1 January 2006 and will remain in force until 31 December 2007.

Unless terminated, the Agreement will be automatically renewed.

Scope

Territorial: the entire territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Professional: all companies providing, in whole or in part, the following work, supplies and services:

• sales;
• repairs;
• maintenance and
• provision of services for all types of agricultural machinery and their accessories.

Personnel: all personnel employed by the aforementioned companies as holders of a certificate of completion of apprenticeship, employees and young workers.

Salary/remuneration

Remuneration

The salary period corresponds to one calendar month.

Weekly, ten-day, or bi-monthly advance payments may be made.

The previous month’s statement must be prepared no later than the 10^th calendar day of each month.

If the salary payment date falls on a non-working day, payment must be made on the preceding working day.

Apprenticeship allowances may not be reduced on grounds of course attendance; however, any unjustified absence will be penalised by a reduction of 1/173 of the total allowance per hour of absence.

Other remuneration

Overtime work (Article 8)

Overtime is defined as hours worked beyond the normal daily and weekly working hours.

The following hourly wage increments apply to overtime:

• for overtime, 25%
• for Sunday work, 70%
• for work on a public holiday, 100%
• for night work in the case of shift work, 15%

Kilometrage allowance (Article 17)

Any employee required, at the request of the employer or the employer’s representative, to use his or her own vehicle for work-related travel will receive an allowance of 10.00 LUF per kilometre.

Continuing training courses (Article 21)

Graduates of continuing training courses in electricity, electronics and hydraulics for agricultural machinery, organised by the Lycée Technique Agricole in Ettelbruck in collaboration with the Federation of Agricultural Machinery Companies of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, will receive, upon successful completion of the final examination, a 5% increase in their contractual salary, or a 2% increase if their actual salary is higher than the contractual salary.

Working hours

The normal weekly working hours are 40 hours and the daily working hours are 8 hours.

For all urgent repairs and troubleshooting interventions (e.g., repairs  to milking parlours, agricultural machinery in the event of a breakdown  during operation, etc.), these working hours may be extended, at the employer’s request, to a  maximum of 10 hours per day and 48 hours per week, subject to payment of the increments provided for in the event of overtime.

Every employee is entitled to a paid 15-minute coffee break each working day.

Night work is defined as any work performed between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m.

Companies are free to organise working hours from 1 August 2005, on the basis of a 6-month reference period.

If the legal provisions are amended, the terms will have to be renegotiated at the request of either party.

Reference period:  

• Compensation for working hours is calculated over a 6-month period.

If the company uses a compensation model, this must be displayed within the company, indicating the start and end dates of the reference period; otherwise, the traditional principle applies (40 hours/week, 8 hours/day). A reference period cannot be interrupted and must be applied until its end.

• Minimum and maximum working hours

At least 32 hours per week and 8 hours per day must be worked. The daily working hours may be less than 8 hours if 40 hours have already been worked during the week. The working week runs from Monday to Saturday included. The maximum allowed working hours are, without increments for overtime work, 44 hours per week and 10 hours per day.

• Compensation for working hours

Only hours worked between the 8th and 11th hour per day and between the 32nd and 45th hours per week can compensated during the reference period.

The hours to be taken as time off must be determined by mutual agreement between the employee and the employer.

• Overtime

All hours worked beyond the 44th weekly hour or the 10th daily hour are considered overtime.

Those overtime hours must be paid with a wage increment of 25% in the same month and are not included in the compensation system.

• Salary calculation

The monthly salary is calculated on the basis of 8 hours of work per day and is increased, where applicable, by the overtime hours worked outside the compensation system and the increment thereof.

Regular working time includes leave, public holidays, and periods of absence recognised by the health fund.

• End of the reference period

A statement is prepared at the end of the reference period. Any shortfall in hours is the responsibility of the company. Any excess hours are paid with a 25% salary supplement.

The carrying over of missed or excess hours to the following reference period is not permitted.

• Work schedule

The work schedule must cover at least one week. It must be given to the employee at least 5 days before it takes effect and cannot be modified thereafter.

• Miscellaneous

The salary statement must include, during the reference period, all the data enabling employees to ascertain the details of their working time account, both within and outside the compensation system.

The present working time regulations must not infringe upon existing labour law.

Right to leave

Annual leave

• In principle, annual leave is governed by the provisions of the relevant Laws of 22 April 1966 and 26 July 1975 (repealed by the Law of 31 July 2006 introducing a Labour Code. The general provisions of the Labour Code apply).
• The right to leave is deemed to have been acquired after three months of uninterrupted employment with the same employer.
• In principle, leave is 25 working days for a 5-day working week.
• As from 2005, all employees who have been with a company for at least 10 years receive one additional day of leave. The date of joining the company is the determining factor.

Special leave (Article 14)

Employees unable to report to work for family reasons are entitled to special leave at the time of the event in question.

This special leave is:

• 1 day: in the event of the death of grandparents on either side, grandchildren, siblings, brothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law;
• 2 days: in the event of the birth of a child by the spouse, the marriage of a child, or a house move, as well as the adoption of a child or the birth of a legally recognised child;
• 3 days: in the event of the death of a spouse, parents, parents-in-law, children, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law;
• 6 days: in the event of the employee’s marriage.

The right to special leave is not subject to the 3-month waiting period.

Statutory public holidays (Article 20)

• Statutory public holidays are subject to the provisions of the Law of 10 April 1976 (repealed by the Law of 31 July 2006 introducing a Labour Code. The general provisions of the Labour Code are applicable).
• The following are considered statutory public holidays: New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension, Whit Monday, the National Day, Assumption, All Saints’ Day, and the first and second days of Christmas (25 and 26 December).

Termination of contract

Dismissals and notice periods

In principle, the contract may be terminated by either party subject to the appropriate notice period.

In the event of termination by the employer, the employee is entitled to severance pay (Article 4) equivalent to:

• 1 monthly salary after more than 5 and less than 10 years of service
• 2 monthly salaries after 10 to 15 years of service
• 3 monthly salaries after the 15^th year of service

Article 5.2. Examples of termination with immediate effect by the employer.

Article 5.3. Examples of termination with immediate effect by the employee.

Health, safety and hygiene

Working conditions (Article 17)

• The employee is required to maintain the tools provided by the employer in perfect working order. Any lost tool must be replaced by the employee.
• The employer is required to take all necessary measures to prevent accidents, in compliance with accident-prevention regulations.
• For special work, appropriate protective clothing and equipment must be provided.
• Regarding health and safety, the provisions of the Law of 17 June 1994 concerning the safety and health of workers at work, must be respected.
• The start and end of the working day are governed by the relevant internal regulations. Employees are required to begin work punctually, at the designated time. Employees may not finish work before the mutually agreed end of their working day.
• Furthermore, employees are required to comply with internal instructions in so far as they do not conflict with the present agreement or the relevant legal provisions.

Miscellaneous stipulations, including sector-specific provisions

Recruitment and probationary period (Article 3)

• The first two (2) months following the recruitment date for unskilled employees, or the first four (4) months for skilled employees, are regarded as a probationary period.
• The probationary period is an integral part of any employment relationship and therefore is not required to be stipulated in writing.

Paid interruptions of work (Article 16)

Specific interruptions of work are governed by the following provisions:

• If an employee is involved in a work-related accident requiring him to stop working, he will be entitled to his full daily salary for the day of the accident;
• Full pay will be due in the event of the rescue or transport of an injured employee within the company, as well as in the event of internal investigations concerning accidents within the company;
• Furthermore, the employee shall not suffer any loss of salary if prevented from working as the result of a court summons for any reason other than being a defendant. This provision, however, applies only once a year;
• The employee may be excused from work for up to 16 hours per year for blood donations. These hours shall be borne equally by the employee and the employer.

Undeclared work (Article 19)

• After the scheduled working hours, as well as during days of leave and public holidays, no professional work may be performed for third parties in exchange for remuneration.
• Any employee found guilty of undeclared work is subject to dismissal with immediate effect.
• Furthermore, the respective provisions of the Law of 3 August 1977 on the prohibition of undeclared work, as well as the provision of the law concerning leave for undeclared work performed during leave, are applicable (repealed by the Law of 31 July 2006, introducing a Labour Code. The general provisions of the Labour Code are applicable).

Provisions on equal treatment and non-discrimination

Equal treatment for men and women (Article 22)

• In accordance with the Law of 8 December 1981 on equal treatment for men and women (repealed by the Law of 31 July 2006, introducing a Labour Code. The general provisions of the Labour Code are applicable), the employer is required to apply the same conditions to both sexes with regard to recruitment, as well as initial and continuing vocational training.
• Moreover, both sexes benefit from the same salary conditions for identical or equivalent work.