Housing, travel and workplace accessibility

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More and more Luxembourgers are leaving the country and three quarters of them live in one of the three neighboring countries, Germany, France or Belgium. For a large majority of them, they still work in Luxembourg. This is confirmed by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies of the Grand Duchy in a recent study on the population of the Grand Duchy. High real estate prices are one of the reasons.

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This is also the reality for the staff of the European Institutions.

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Luxembourg's location poses problems as an EU site, making it less attractive than elsewhere.

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We see in a housing allowance a favorable track for staff assigned to Luxembourg.  This allowance would represent a fixed amount of around 650 EUR, for everyone.  It would be an applicable solidarity basis without exposing staff to a reopening of the Staff Regulations and nor being an opportunity to abuse acquired rights.

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Did you know: Luxembourg plays a special role of reference just like Brussels as the main and original seats of most institutions. For this reason, no correction coefficient is applied in Luxembourg and Belgium (Art. 64 of the Staff Regulations).

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Any modification of this provision, whether with regard to the role of head office or the application of a correction coefficient, implies the modification of the Statute.  On the other hand the introduction of a compensation is the responsibility of the appointing authority.

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Let's recall :

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The reopening of the Statute in 2004 was an opportunity:

 

• To introduce lower entry grades

• To reduce the rate of accumulation of retirement

• To renew and double the level of the exceptional levy

• To reduce a certain number of allowances

• Delete the "capital" correction coefficients compared to the "country" correction coefficients saved but at a lower level

• etc

 

Under the pretext that the method of adjusting salaries and pensions expired (note that since its renewal is automatic),the reopening of the Statute in 2014 was an opportunity:

 

• To lower once again the rate of accumulation of the pension

• To increase the crisis levy

• To hinder the compensation obtained with the 2004 reform since access to grades above AST 9 and AD 12 is severely limited

• Limit compensation related to annual trips to the place of origin

• etc

 

 

With a view to reopening the Statute, the issues would be, for example:

 

• The rate of accumulation of pensions

• The reference period for calculating the pension beyond the last year

• The pension adjustment method

• The level of the special additional levy of 6.5% (“crisis”) would be increased

• The number of possible promotions and the average seniority in the grade would be reduced

• The 16% expatriation would see their duration of application greatly reduced