Society has changed: more than 70% of women now work (outside the home) and Luxembourg University has just released the results of a study which showed that girls do much better at schools than boys.
The Luxembourg government wants to support women and families at home without them stopping work. Another issue relates to combining business and family life. Parental leave currently stands at €1,776 per month for 6 months to stay at home with one's children, but it is easier for women to avail of this rather than men; for example, if someone has a monthly salary of €5,000, it is a significant difference to accept the parental leave amount, as families usually have financial committments based on one's regualr salary, including a mortgage, etc. The government is working with employers to draft a new law in this regard.
Another change coming addresses the fact that currently the amount of children's allowance is the same for each child, which the government feels is sending out the wrong message. She quoted figures from neighbouring countries which have different such policies, with women in France having an average of 2.07 children, while the figure is 1.4 in Germany. With 46% of residents in Luxembourg being non-nationals, the Minister emphasised that the social infrastructure needs to be appropriate as well.
On a question related to the links between the Ministry of the Family and the Ministry of Education, Minister Cahen explained that she has a good collaboration with Education Minister Claude Meisch. Another question addressed the issue of part-time working for young mothers; Minister Cahen stated that different needs exist depending on the age of children, stressing the evolution and flexibility needed in such structures. She acknowledged that full-time and half-time are recognised in Luxembourg, yet part-time is something new and is being addressed in the new parental leave legislation which will become much more flexible.
Another attendee questioned if children's allowance will be different for newcomers to Luxembourg, but Minister Cahen discounted this and stated that it would be the same for everyone.
Minister Corinne Cahen was talking at the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) in Luxembourg on Thursday lunchtime at La Table du Belvedere in Luxembourg-Kirchberg on the topic of Modernisation on Family Policy, i.e. recent reforms including family leave and parental allowances.
BCC Chairman Alison Macleod introduced Minister Corinne Cahen and explained that in addition to her ministerial responsibilities, she is also head of the Luxembourg Diversity Charter. She is also Minister for Integration and referred to the recent referendum and talked about integration and language, where English is becoming more important in Luxembourg. She stressed the need to address the issue of language more and more and called for dialogue on the issue. She added that the issue of identity and language will be discussed a lot over the coming weeks and months.
Photo by Geoff Thompson (L-R): Sophie Kerschen, BCC; Minister Corinne Cahen; Alison Macleod, BCC Chairman and KPMG Partner.
