A petition to switch to seven-hour working days in Luxembourg, instead of eight, has collected more than 1,000 signatures in three days. If it reaches 4,500 within 39 days, the subject will be debated in the Chamber of Deputies. The reduction of working time is precisely one of Georges Engel’s files.
More than 1,000 supporters in one weekend. Filed on May 29 and opened for signature on June 17, petition no. 2345 already had 1,347 petitions this Monday, June 20 at the start of the afternoon. Its goal: to move to 35 hours per week, instead of the current 40, for full-time employment contracts in Luxembourg. That’s seven-hour days.
“Luxembourg is one of the European Union countries with the longest working week. The reduction in working hours would allow an increase in the hourly productivity of employees and an increase in the feeling of general well-being”, justifies the petitioner, Gauthier Vandewoestyne.
For the subject to be debated in the Chamber of Deputies, it must reach 4,500 signatures. He has 39 days left.
A study on the reduction of working time
These petitions aimed at granting more rights to employees are often successful. Like the one for nine months of parental leave, which should soon be discussed. Or even that for a right to telework. The request gave rise to a debate, which resulted in a refusal.
The reduction of working time is also a subject on which the Minister of Labour, George Engel (LSAP). “I’m not going to get into a discussion about whether to go to 35, 36, or 38 hours. However, I would like to be able to address the issue following the results of a study on the subject. It is in progress and, as soon as we have the results, I hope to be able to discuss it within the framework of a constructive and appropriate social dialogue”, he declared, on the sidelines of a press conference of the Adem.
In Germany too, employees generally work 40 hours a week. In France, they are 35 hours, and in Belgium, 38 hours. The country tries to condense them into four days, an option that Luxembourg should not choose. In an interview granted to Delano, Georges Engel indicates that he does not consider it as “social progress”, because it lengthens working days.
Several options
The UK, on the other hand, launched a pilot program in January of a four-day working week, with employees receiving the same pay for fewer hours. A similar program in Iceland started in 2019. Sweden, meanwhile, piloted a six-hour workday.
In Luxembourg, some companies have already taken the initiative to switch to flexible working hours or a four-day week.
Employers’ groups, for their part, have sounded the alarm over this idea. For them, the labor shortage would be exacerbated by the reduction in working hours.
As the October 2023 elections approach, the subject should in any case be on the agenda of political decision-makers. It remains to be seen in what direction the negotiations with the social partners will go.
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