The Labour and Mines Inspectorate (ITM) has awarded special permission to 132 businesses to work through the collective leave period in the construction sector, which begins today.

The collective leave period, which applies to the sectors of construction and engineering, will begin on Friday 29 July and bring construction sites in Luxembourg to a halt for three weeks. For companies active in heating, ventilation, and sanitary services, a slightly shorter leave period applies, which lasts from 1 to 21 August.

However, 1,221 employees doing preparation work in schools and factories will continue working through this period. In some cases, the Labour and Mines Inspectorate awards special permission to ensure that essential infrastructure can be maintained.

This year, permission has been given to 132 businesses while the requests of 36 were denied. According to the ITM, 22 out of those that were denied did not need the special permission.

87 businesses were responsible for filing the 168 demands this year, out of which 53 concerned work in schools, 19 concerned factories, and 96 concerned urgent construction sites. This means that a total of 1,221 employees have received permission to work during the summer.

In comparison, the first pandemic summer of 2020 saw 228 demands from 127 businesses, which affected 1,725 employees. During the 2021 leave period, there were 226 demands from 105 businesses for 1,128 employees.

The ITM has announced that with the help of border authorities and the police, they will conduct checks of construction sites during this year's leave period. They will have the right to "stop operations of businesses that did not receive special permission".