calling for an extension of parental leave to nine months full-time was held in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday 9 November. The petitioner Michèle Senninger was accompanied by Anne Heintz, and both intervened to argue their demand to increase the parental leave reformed in 2016 by an additional three months.

While a Unicef report published in June 2021 placed Luxembourg at the top of 41 OECD and EU countries, ranked according to their provision of childcare and parental leave, the two petitioners told MEPs that "Luxembourg has a rather short full-time parental leave in the OECD average. Especially for pregnant women, the return to work nine months after giving birth is painful. Some mothers have no choice but to take unpaid leave.”

Longer but less paid leave abroad

Present in the chamber of deputies, labour minister (LSAP) and family minister (DP) explained that they understood the demands of Senninger and Heintz, "but there is the question of funding. Other countries do have longer parental leave, for example two years, but it can be unpaid or low-paid", explained Engel. 

In France, for example, there is a parental leave that must be taken at the latest when the child is three years old. Its initial duration is one year at most but it can be renewed under different conditions. The parent can then receive the shared child-rearing benefit, which is: €405.97 for full parental leave; €262.45 for part-time parental leave (maximum 50% activity), and €151.39 for part-time parental leave between 50% and 80%.

An issue for the elections?

On the Luxembourg side, Cahen did not fail to point out that the 2016 parental leave reform, and in particular the increase in replacement income, "was an argument for many fathers to take parental leave in one form or another. Mothers took 51.8% of parental leave, and fathers 48.2%," the minister added. "Nowadays, as many fathers as mothers take parental leave to stay with their children."

At the end of the session in the Chamber of Deputies, it was clarified that the public petition will not have any direct consequences. "We now want to wait for the study on the reformed parental leave, which should be carried out by LISER (Luxembourg institute of socio-economic research) next year. This was also foreseen in the coalition agreement. The conclusions will only be on the table in 2024," the ministers said. "But the subject will probably also appear in the electoral programmes", said the chair of the Petitions Committee, (CSV).

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.