The President of the Independent Workers' Union, Clara Moraru, has called for stronger social protection for Luxembourg’s freelancers and self-employed. In conversation with RTL Radio on Tuesday, Moraru highlighted widespread misconceptions about independent workers, explaining that the group is far broader than just "big bosses".
In Luxembourg, independent workers include translators, craftspeople, sports coaches, dancers, IT specialists, doctors, and even farmers. Around 30,000 people in Luxembourg work independently, with two-thirds operating without any employees.
According to Moraru, choosing to work as a self-employed person is often not a matter of preference. She noted that about one-third of new businesses in Luxembourg are created out of necessity, because individuals cannot find opportunities on the traditional job market.
She explained that the reasons for this include non-recognition of foreign qualifications, living with a disability, or lacking proficiency in the country's official languages.
One of the key criticisms raised by the Independent Workers' Union concerns social insurance contributions. Moraru argued that although self-employed workers shoulder a heavy contribution burden, covering costs that are otherwise split between employer and employee, they still receive less protection than salaried workers.
This is particularly evident when independent workers fall ill: they must wait 77 days before becoming eligible for state sickness benefit, while they are still required to pay social security contributions, despite having no income. By comparison, the waiting period is only three days in France, eight in Belgium, and 43 in Germany.
Unemployment support is another area where independent workers are left vulnerable. Moraru revealed that over 60 percent of unemployment benefit applications submitted by independent workers in 2024 were rejected.
This means the social safety net fails precisely when it is most needed, especially affecting professions increasingly threatened by artificial intelligence and automation, she said.
Independent workers are also frequently excluded from certain state aid programmes, Moraru stressed. For instance, they are ineligible for some housing assistance or other support schemes available to salaried employees, she said, adding that, despite contributing the same amount in taxes, they do not enjoy the same rights.
Moraru suggested these shortcomings help explain Luxembourg's poor ranking in February's "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor", which evaluates the business environment in different countries.
According to Moraru, Luxembourg was rated “insufficient” in 10 of the 13 areas used to assess the country’s entrepreneurship environment, with conditions for starting a business having deteriorated significantly. On market access, Luxembourg placed last among 53 countries examined.
The Independent Workers' Union has held meetings with the office of PM Luc Frieden, and Moraru welcomed Frieden's announcement of an action plan for independent workers during the recent State of the Nation address.
She urged the government to quickly introduce legal measures, chiefly to reduce the sickness benefit waiting period from 77 to eight days and to guarantee income during illness without requiring additional private insurance, as independent workers already pay social contributions for this purpose.
She also called for a mechanism to support independent workers in cases of force majeure, as during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Luxembourg was the only country where independent workers did not receive compensation for lost income.
Moraru noted that the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Skilled Trades both made similar demands as early as 2021. In 2023, the EU also recommended improved social protection and better access to unemployment benefits for independents, she said.
Moraru also noted that there is an ongoing exchange between the union and the office of the PM to ensure that the conditions on the ground are known and that adequate legislative changes can be proposed to improve the situation.
As a closing remark, Moraru emphasised that more and more companies are working with freelancers, who are willing to work, pay taxes, and contribute to society.
Their status also means that they are not represented in the same way as employees in the upcoming tripartite talks, which puts them at a further disadvantage in making their concerns and demands known. Therefore, Moraru insisted that they must also be afforded better protection when things go wrong.
