Security personnel who worked during the health crisis to help monitor social distancing deserve a bonus, reckons one petitioner in Luxembourg Shutterstock

Security personnel who worked during the health crisis to help monitor social distancing deserve a bonus, reckons one petitioner in Luxembourg Shutterstock

Of the seven new public petitions published, Luxembourg folk singer and activist Serge Tonnar’s has received the most traction with petition 1584 attracting 555 signatures at the time of publishing. The joint submission with Sabine Tonnar-Stoltz recalls 10 principles to live better lives in Luxembourg. Among them are fair and humane education, equality and flexibility of work, people before economy, the right to housing, and sustainable and fair consumption.

These themes are partly raised again in petition 1563, which calls for nationwide testing before the easing of lockdown measures. On 11 May, the grand duchy entered its second phase of relaxing social distancing rules, enabling all shops to reopen and small-scale gatherings. Voluntary nationwide screening is expected to begin imminently, however, it will start slower than expected for logistic and technical reasons. The goal is to be able to conduct 20,000 tests per day at 17 testing centres. But the Luxembourg Institute of Health said it won’t reach this scale until at least 1 June. Further announcements on this matter are expected this week.

Petition 1596 wants teleworking to be made compulsory for at least one day per week. Remote working was strongly recommended during the peak of the first wave in a bid to reduce transmission of the coronavirus. This was permitted for cross-border workers through temporary amendments to tax treaties with neighbouring countries. According to the OGBL, up to 75% of financial sector staff worked remotely during the health crisis. Aleba, the Luxembourg association for bank and insurance employees, favours such a shift. But there remain barriers--a recent Chamber of Commerce survey found that less than a quarter of respondents were able to have their full workforce work remotely.  

Petition 1589 wants a €300 net bonus for security personnel, who gave up leave to monitor social distancing measures in recent weeks.

While petition 1592 calls for a national referendum on 5G, the fifth-generation mobile network currently being tested in Luxembourg. Sceptics claim that 5G poses a health risk, a theory that has been dismissed by numerous specialists including the International Commission on non-Ionising Radion Protection and the World Health Organization. This has not stopped conspiracy theorists circulating stories in recent months falsely connecting the spread of coronavirus to 5G. And it has not quelled concern in Luxembourg, where another petition calling to stop 5G garnered well over the 4,500-signature threshold to push for a parliamentary debate.

Who can sign?

Anyone may sign a digital petition, provided they are aged 15 or over and have a social security card in Luxembourg.

If the petitions garner 4,500 signatures or more before they are closed for signing, Luxembourg MPs will debate the subject in parliament.