Speaking to our colleagues from RTL Radio on Friday morning, Minister for the Civil Service Marc Hansen reacted to the reproaches by the General Confederation of the Civil Service (CGFP), which demanded “an immediate stop of all hard sanctions”. However, according to the minister, there have been no hard sanctions so far. Hansen stated that he had enquired about the issue with the responsible and independent Commissioner to the Government.
The Minister stressed that “these are the facts” presented to him by “an independent authority” on Thursday evening. Based on these facts, it is now up to “everyone” to decide what to make of “such a press release”. As for the Minister himself, Hansen stated that he would not comment on the matter further. With the holidays just around the corner, he explained, it would be best for everyone to “take a deep breath” and “adjust our tone a little”.
For the time being, the 3G regime at the workplace is still voluntary, but the system will become mandatory from 15 January 2022. Hansen stated that everyone always says that one should be mindful and not polarise, but in that case, the Minister stressed, one should also be mindful of the 450,000 residents who have decided to get the vaccine and listen to doctors who warn of severe courses of the disease and an oversaturated healthcare system.
The CGFP had previously complained that there is no uniform authorisation of telework at the state-level. Hansen explained that the government recommends up to four days of telework for civil servants, where possible. However, uniform rules are not possible because working from home is either difficult or outright impossible for many jobs, according to the Minister.
