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‘Any form of bullying is unacceptable’, says Culture minister

Accusations of bullying at the CNA recently surfaced in the press, leading the minister and the centre’s director to address them directly before the Chamber’s culture committee. The Green Party had already submitted a request to speak to them regarding the issue. First Thill explained that the CNA was in the midst of a transformation process, leading to a number of issues at the Dudelange site. But accusations of bullying should not be taken lightly, he added.
“Of the 62 members of staff, two people initiated a formal protection procedure, meaning that two people had reported being victims of harassment or bullying. This took place from December 2023 to now.”

While two people had reported issues to date, other issues could not be ruled out, as their colleagues could feasibly lack the energy or courage to speak out. The Left’s David Wagner spoke of unofficial numbers: “We were told there are at least ten people who have reported problems. You know how difficult it can be, perhaps they let the issue drop as they don’t want further problems and so on. But if it’s true that ten people signalled issues then that is a real problem. We will discuss the people who have resigned from a position of responsibility since September 2023 at a different committee session soon.” Four people have left management positions in that timeframe. The minister explained one had retired and another had been transferred to a different administration. In all cases, the staff members left after the transformation process reduced ten management positions to four.

“So 40% of the managers left, that is a lot, I think. Not a good sign for the CNA. It needs to be investigated to see if there are other reasons. But if it is down to dysfunctionality, or poor conditions, then I think we must analyse this very quickly.” Last March the Minister of Culture ordered a study to determine staff satisfaction, and that snapshot revealed not all areas were happy. Thill said this was down to communication, participation and transparency. The Ministry will now carry out analysis of psychosocial risks and launch a support committee. But it is difficult to say whether this is the solution, said the Greens’ Djuna Bernard.

Also today

• Following the orthopaedic surgeon’s provisional suspension until 22 April, Dr Philippe Wilmes has now been let go by the Hôpitaux Robert Schuman group.
• A recent EU report on road safety shows that Luxembourg fares relatively well compared with its European counterparts, recording 27 traffic fatalities per million inhabitants, ranking 4th out of the union.
• Fresh downpours have brought more flooding, landslides and fear to southeastern Brazil where rescuers are still searching for 14 missing people after a rainstorm that started Monday has already left 54 people dead and 5,000 forced to flee their homes.
• Hillary Clinton calls for Trump to testify as she faces US House Epstein panel
• Luxembourg will introduce the European Union’s new Emissions Trading System from 2028, replacing its national CO2 tax
• The European Commission has clarified that EU countries may draw on existing social funds to help women access safe abortion care, following a citizen-led campaign that gathered over one million signatures.

Very special celebrity ‘Algo-Rhythm’ on the show with suggestions chosen by Tom’s guest on Monday, Zac Lawrence, lead singer from DeadLetter!

Figure of the day

63,000 Jews deported from Drancy to Auschwitz-Birkenau between August 1941 and August 1944.

• Two swastikas have been found spray-painted on buildings in a Paris suburb that served as a World War II transit camp for some 63,000 Jews deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
• The Drancy internment camp served as the main departure point for Jewish deportees from France to Nazi death camps between August 1941 and August 1944. The two swastikas were drawn in two different buildings. One measured a few centimetres across, while the other was nearly one metre (3.2 feet) in diameter.
  

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