Working conditions and medical facilities will be on the Chamber of Deputies’ agenda following several successful public petitions. Library picture: MPs are seen debating two covid-19 vaccination petitions, 12 January 2022. Photo credit: Chamber of Deputies

Working conditions and medical facilities will be on the Chamber of Deputies’ agenda following several successful public petitions. Library picture: MPs are seen debating two covid-19 vaccination petitions, 12 January 2022. Photo credit: Chamber of Deputies

Two widely discussed public petitions--on the workweek and on teleworking--will be debated soon in the Chamber of Deputies.

Parliament’s petitions committee greenlit 7 public petitions this week, including 2 that received widespread media attention. Both surpassed the 4,500 signature threshold by a notable margin.

Petition , which called for a the full-time workweek to be cut to , received 6,247 valid signatures. (The baseline workweek is 35 hours a week in France, 38-40 hours in Belgium and 40 hours in Germany.)

Petition , which called for the right to per week “for everyone, including cross-border commuters”, received 13,892 valid signatures. (This would allow far more teleworking days than currently allowed under bilateral tax agreements and EU social security rules.)

Both propositions will be the subject of a public parliamentary hearing “in the coming weeks” although the precise dates have not yet been confirmed, the Chamber of Deputies .

Additional petition debates

The petitions committee approved 5 other entreaties. Petition , which called for a 24 hour maternity and emergency paediatric clinic to be operated in the north, received 4,657 valid signatures. (Residents often have to travel to Luxembourg City afterhours and weekends.) The debate is scheduled for 21 September at 9am.

Petition , which called for to be covered by the National Health Fund (CNS), received 5,522 valid signatures. It will be debated on 23 September at 3pm. Just this week negotiations broke down between the CNS and psychotherapy federation Fapsylux on the possible reimbursement of psychotherapy services.

Petition , which called for increasing Luxembourg’s care capacity, received 5,056 valid signatures. The issue will be discussed on 3 October at 10am.

Petition , which opposed obligatory vaccination for people aged 50 and up, picked up 5,042 valid signatures. (The government has , which was never officially put in place). Petitioners will be heard on 17 October at 10:30am.

Petition , arguing for 9 months of , earned 4,814 valid signatures. (The current maximum is 6 months of full-time leave or 12 months of part-time leave.) The public debate has not yet been scheduled, parliament said.

Public petitions

Anyone aged 15 and up with a Luxembourg social security can launch or sign a parliamentary public petition. Those that garner 4,500 valid signatures will, by law, receive a public debate with MPs and members of government. There is, however, no obligation for ministers and legislators to act on the petitioner’s appeal.

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