New Luxembourg Union Strives to Offer Common Voice to Self-Employed

This week marked the official creation of a new association aimed at strengthening the voice and rights of the self-employed in Luxembourg: the "Union des Indépendants" (Independent Workers' Union).

Set up on the initiative of local entrepreneur Daniela Clara Moraru, the Independent Workers' Union aims to provide Luxembourg's self-employed with "a common voice" and a sense of "community", while striving to protect and strengthen their rights and raise awareness of the challenges they face.

The eight founding members of the Independent Workers' Union are: Daniela Clara Moraru, Jas Madhur, Francis Hoogewerf, Anne-Gaëlle Halter, Crina Enita-Goetzinger, Hansjörg Reimer, Dominique Valschaerts and Raul Nicu.

Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Ms Moraru explained that the seeds of the idea had already been planted back in 2020. "We saw during the pandemic that the rights [of the self-employed] were not taken into account," she said, mentioning also the limited financial assistance granted to Luxembourg's self-employed during this difficult period. "We don't have the same rights [as employees] because we have no common voice, no organisation to fight for us," she added.

And so, what started out as a Facebook group aimed at raising awareness of the "injustices" facing Luxembourg's self-employed during the COVID-19 pandemic has today become a registered association working to defend the rights of its members and improve their working conditions.

In addition to providing a strong, common voice and a community for the self-employed, showing them they are not alone, the new union aims to analyse the evolution of new forms of self-employment, raise awareness of the challenges and "demystify" myths surrounding what it means to be self-employed. Ms Moraru noted that more and more people are expected to become independent / self-employed workers in the future as working trends evolve and companies hire less; as such, some people (regardless of their skills or qualifications) are "forced”" to turn to self-employment. The new union will strive to "observe and understand" evolving trends and build connections with organisations in other countries, as well as carrying out research to learn more about who the self-employed are, in order to better represent and defend them.

In a similar vein, the union aims to create (in the mid- to long-term) a charter of good conduct, based on "mutual respect", to be signed by companies working with the self-employed. The goal is to ensure the latter's rights are respected. The union also aims to offer training courses and advice to its members.

To join the Independent Workers' Union, aspiring members are asked to pay a standard membership fee of €50 per year, but a lower fee is available for those who are "more vulnerable" (e.g. lower incomes) such as self-employed delivery people. Anyone who wishes to become independent is also welcome to join and "already get access to so much expertise" as they embark on their self-employment journey. There is also a membership option for companies wishing to support the union and its members.

Further information is available on the union's social media pages (Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn) or by directly contacting one of the founding members.