Forced to close for a second time since 26 November, restaurants and cafés are currently going through a phase of uncertainty as to their reopening and sustainability in the context of the health crisis.

The OGBL fears “a hecatomb in a sector that employs several tens of thousands of employees in Luxembourg,” the unions said in a press release issued on Wednesday.

With the two imposed closures and a marked drop in activity between the two lockdowns as a result of social distancing and falling customer confidence--coupled with costs incurred to comply with health requirements such as the purchase of plexiglass partitions--things are not looking good for the sector.

While the union welcomes the existence of financial aid, it regrets that this support is not conditional on a guarantee of job retention in the sector.

This is why the OGBL is proposing a “Horecadësch”, a roundtable discussion between all the stakeholders to formulate a plan that will help maintain jobs in the sector.

Its sectoral committee has decided to request a second meeting with the representatives of the Horesca and ministers following the meeting of last Monday, 11 January. As for the government, it maintains for the moment the closure of restaurants and cafés at least until 31 January 2021. Secretary general of the Horesca Federation François Koepp said last week that he did not expect a resumption before mid-February.

This article was originally published on Paperjam.lu in French.