The Luxembourg Trade Confederation (Confédération luxembourgeoise du commerce - clc) has issued a statement in which it criticises the social security situation of cross-border drivers.
On behalf of its affiliated federations the Group of Transport Entrepreneurs (Groupement des Entrepreneurs de Transports) and the Federation of Bus and Coach Operators (Fédération des Exploitants d’Autobus et d’Autocars), the clc described the Joint Social Security Centre's (Centre commun de la sécurité sociale - CCSS) handling of the disaffiliation of a certain number of cross-border drivers as "disastrous".
The clc recalled that, in recent public interventions, Luxembourg's Minister of Social Security declared that only 2 to 3% of employees in the sector will have to be affiliated with the social security of one of the Grand Duchy's neighbouring countries in the long term and that at no point will employees in the sector find themselves without social security. And yet, all initiatives to reach agreements with Luxembourg's neighbours have so far failed, allegedly because the social security systems of these countries took the opportunity to collect social security charges.
The clc argued that the Social Security Minister has "still not realised the impact" of the European Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 for both employees and employers and has "not made the desired effort to defend the interests of the respective sectors". Since the regulation in question provides for the possibility of establishing bilateral agreements, the clc asked why the Luxembourg government has "not started negotiations to defend the interests of Luxembourg employees and employers and to implement bilateral agreements". The trade confederation maintained that current European regulations do not take into account the size and specificity of Luxembourg, particularly regarding cross-border workers in the sector.
The clc concluded by recalling the "exemplary work of systemic importance" carried out by lorry drivers during the COVID-19 crisis and appealed to the Luxembourg government to address this issue "with the same urgency" as its cross-border teleworking agreements and to defend the interests of these economic sectors.
