Preventing and dealing with sexual harassment

On 4 March 2024, the College of the Mayor and Aldermen, the staff delegation for civil servants and municipal workers, and the staff delegation for employees, signed a new agreement on preventing and dealing with sexual and psychological harassment. This agreement highlights the City of Luxembourg’s efforts to prevent and eradicate all forms of sexual and psychological harassment within the municipal administration, and to foster a healthy work environment and respectful relations between staff members at the City of Luxembourg.

After collecting feedback over more than 10 years on the procedure for dealing with harassment, and further to recent changes to legislation on this matter, the City and staff representatives revised the former August 2010 agreement to highlight more specifically the responsibilities and the inappropriate behaviour of those who engage in harassment, and particularly sexual harassment. In addition, the new procedure allows anyone who has witnessed the sexual harassment of another person to share their observations with a confidential adviser; recognises the psychological damage inflicted on victims of sexual harassment; provides for the option for victims to undergo treatment by a specialised therapist recognised by the City; and facilitates intervention by department managers and the Human Resources Directorate to put a stop to any inappropriate behaviour as quickly as possible.

2024 campaign

Following on from a number of conferences on harassment were held during the Sécherheets- a Gesondheetswochen 2023 – a series of courses and workshops on health and safety at work – the City is now running an awareness campaign aimed at all staff members as part of the signing of the new agreement.

As an ardent defender of a zero-tolerance approach to harassment, the City is distributing to all staff members a series of posters and a brochure on the topic, reminding them of the legal basis for prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace, explaining the new procedure for preventing and dealing with harassment, and providing advice for victims and witnesses of inappropriate behaviour.