Meeting of the municipal council of 12 June 2020

Question posed by Roy Reding

A vulnerable person, as understood in relation to the stipulations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, has informed me that the City of Luxembourg administration has refused to allow her husband to work from home. Both work in education. A person living with a vulnerable person, the council will recall, was allowed to apply for remote working so as not to put them at greater risk of infection. The household in question received a letter from the head of the City's Département Prévention-Santé-Diversité (Prevention, Health & Diversity Department), denying the husband's remote working application.

• Why is the municipal administration flouting the rules on the protection of vulnerable people?
• Why was the decision in question taken by a municipal employee with no medical qualifications, and not the Service Enseignement (Education Department) or the school doctor?
• Is the employee in question authorised to sign on behalf of the mayor?
• What is the situation in terms of liability for failure, on the part of the municipal administration, to protect a vulnerable person?

Response provided by Colette Mart and Lydie Polfer

The woman in question is a primary school teacher, and therefore a Government employee, whereas her husband works in a foyer scolaire run by the City of Luxembourg. The municipal administration has produced guidelines for members of staff who live with a vulnerable person. What is important is to strike the right balance between catering to residents' needs and working within the constraints imposed by the fight against the virus. Many municipal employees have been furloughed, or have worked from home during the lockdown.

For foyer scolaire staff, it is generally not possible to work from home. The employee in question was furloughed until 25 May, the date on which primary schools and foyers scolaires reopened.

The decisions relating to such cases are made, not by the schools physician, who was a member of the crisis response unit, but by the Direction Ressources humaines (DRH – Human Resources Directorate) in accordance with government guidelines and procedures set by the college of aldermen. The Département Prévention-Santé-Diversité at the DRH is in contact with the occupational health practitioner, who is qualified to make such decisions.
The college of aldermen decided that the persons in question should be temporarily excused from working directly with children, but should nevertheless be present in the foyer scolaire. For example, they prepared materials, disinfected toys and supervised the children in the playground. The persons in question received guidance from their doctor on the hygiene practices to be observed.

This is not the only such case. The municipal administration has endeavoured to deal with all similar cases fairly, and with the requisite sensitivity. 

Question posed by Guy Foetz

In reference to my question on 7 October about social housing and the Service Logement (Housing Department), I note that a number of elements of that question had not yet received a satisfactory response as at 16 December. Given the urgency of the housing situation in Luxembourg City, and of the general housing shortage nationwide, I reiterate my questions on these matters:

• What is the average waiting time for social housing in Luxembourg City?
• Besides cooperation with other organisations and referral to the Office social (Social Welfare Office), what support does the City provide to those seeking social housing until their request can be met?
• Does the City of Luxembourg have an inventory of vacant properties within its territory?

Response provided by Maurice Bauer

Currently, there are some 550 applications pending. The criteria include family circumstances and the urgency of the application. However, it is not easy to determine the average waiting time, but applicants whose case is not urgent may be waiting for between three and four years.

The City is investing heavily in building affordable housing and social housing, and is also working closely with other parties.

Unfortunately, the number of applications is likely to increase even further. For that reason, the City of Luxembourg is directing applicants notably to the Housing Fund (Fonds pour le développement du logement et de l’habitat), Société nationale des habitations à bon marché (SNHBM), the Social Housing Agency (Agence immobilière sociale – AIS) and Wunnéngshëllef, and also contacts the Office social where appropriate.

Finally, the City does not have an inventory of vacant properties, because such an inventory would contravene data-protection regulations.

Question posed by Cathy Fayot

The twice-weekly market at Knuedler is still in winter mode, meaning that there is a reduced number of stalls selling their products.
However, over the past few years, we have noticed that an increasing number of stallholders do not return in the spring, and that the market is slowly but surely being deserted, due to falling customer numbers and perhaps other reasons.
Lëtzebuerger Maartverband ASBL made this same observation at its general meeting on Sunday 8 March 2020.
This observation leads me to ask the following questions to the mayor:

• Does the City wish to continue holding a twice-weekly market in the city centre and in the Gare district? Perhaps in other districts as well?
• How does the City plan to revitalise the market and attract customers?
• Are the opening times still suitable for customers' needs? (Only a Saturday market open from early morning until 15:00 or 16:00?)
• Does the City intend to take an active approach to attract new merchants with new products and thus diversify the products on offer?
• What is the policy regarding the placement of the different stalls at the market?
• How is parking for merchants' trucks and vans organised to facilitate the restocking of stalls?
• What are the stall rates? (Standgeld)

Over the course of the year, many other events take place at Knuedler, and major works are due to start in September 2020 to revitalise the public square.

• Has an alternative site been found which can accommodate the Wednesday and Saturday markets while these works are ongoing, and when other events are on (e.g. the Mäertchen, the Christmas market)?
• If so, which site? Does it offer easy access for merchants and their customers?

Response provided by Patrick Goldschmidt and Lydie Polfer

This question was originally asked prior to the lockdown to stem the spread of COVID-19. Since then, the situation has changed. There are two active markets: one at Place Guillaume II, and the other at Place Léon XIII in Bonnevoie. No markets are currently being held at Place de Paris, owing to a lengthy construction project.

The college of aldermen hopes to make the existing markets the best they can be before attempting to organise others, bearing in mind that a pilot project to run a market in Kirchberg had to be scrapped because too few customers turned up. In addition, the City encourages the attendance of food trucks, which will draw customers to the markets.
It will work in conjunction with the new head of Lëtzebuerger Maartverband ASBL to assess whether adaptations can be made to opening hours, e.g. opening on Wednesday evenings.

Forms are available on the City of Luxembourg's website for merchants wishing to take part in the market.
So far this year, six merchants have contacted the municipal administration about this matter.
In addition, the City always assesses whether the newly proposed stalls would fit in with what is already in place. The college of aldermen has asked the relevant municipal department to actively seek out stalls that would bring added value to the markets.

One large stall that has been a cornerstone of the market for many years has not come back since the start of lockdown, and the owner does not intend to return this year. The spot in question, therefore, is currently available for another merchant to occupy.

Stalls are organised on the basis of practical considerations (spatial orientation of stands, access routes, accessibility for vans and trucks, etc.). At present, the City is trying to limit the number of vehicles at Place Guillaume II as much as possible, in view of the ongoing works. With all of this in mind, it could be feasible to use the schoolyard in the old Athénée high school as a temporary car park for certain vehicles.

Rates are set out in the tax regulations (Règlement-Taxe). The rate is highly competitive (around €500 per year for a 10-metre-long stall). There are currently no plans to increase this rate.

Finally, there were a lot of market-goers during the lockdown, so the college of aldermen is happy that it decided not to close the market during that period.
With many new customers, the market is stronger than ever in the wake of the crisis. The municipal administration hopes that this positive impact will last.