2001 NAP presented

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In May 2001, the Minister of Labour presented Luxembourg's 2001 National Action Plan (NAP) for employment, which was drawn up by a tripartite body. Notable provisions include measures to address long-term employment and gender pay differentials, and a lifelong learning programme. The new NAP is Luxembourg's first since 1998.

The Minister of Labour and Employment presented Luxembourg's 2001 National Action Plan () for employment, in response to the EU Employment Guidelines, on 16 May 2001. The NAP is Luxembourg's first since 1998, and the Minister made it clear that the new document was "much less spectacular than the 1998 Plan".

The legislation implementing 1998 NAP (LU9811174F) was not finally adopted by the Chamber of Deputies until February 1999 (LU9902194N and LU9903197F), and its interpretation was subject to considerable controversy among the social partners (notably relating to its provisions on the organisation of working time). The government that came to power in August 1999 (LU9909111N) arranged a number of meetings under the auspices of the Tripartite Coordination Committee (Comité de Coordination Tripartite) from March 2000 onwards, aiming at drawing up a new NAP to present to the European Commission by 1 May 2000. However, the process of drawing up a new NAP was suspended in May due to differences between the social partners, and a small working party was set up to deal with outstanding problems (LU0006138F). However, it was not until November that negotiations between the social partners - which focused on working time organisation - resulted in an agreement that allowed the content of the NAP to be drawn up in detail.

The final text of the NAP, prepared by the Standing Committee on Employment (Comité permanent de l'emploi) and approved by the Tripartite Coordination Committee at its meeting on 11 April 2001, was forwarded to the European Commission on 1 May 2001. It follows the Employment Guidelines' four pillars of: improving employability, developing entrepreneurship and job creation; encouraging adaptability of businesses and their employees; and strengthening equal opportunities policies for women and men.

On employability, the Luxembourg NAP seeks to lower the rate of entry into long-term unemployment. The proportion of unemployed people who become long-term unemployed has risen slightly from 17.8% to 21.8% for young people (still out of work after six months), and from 13.6% to 14.6% for adults (still out of work after 12 months). The Employment Administration (Administration de l'Emploi, ADEM) is in the process of drawing up a review of measures to promote youth employment: in particular, this will provide for the conclusion of contracts designed to ensure a better follow-up of young job-seekers. A tutor will be responsible for monitoring and helping young job-seekers in all areas. The NAP also seeks to modernise ADEM services through improved information technology tools, and aims to amend legislation on unemployment benefit so as better to take account of the family situations of job-seekers, particularly young women.

The regulations that determine the practice of, and conditions for, granting "company start-up assistance" will be altered as follows: conditions of entitlement to the assistance for job-seekers and unemployed workers in receipt of benefit will be harmonised; job-seekers seeking assistance under the scheme will be obliged to enrol on training courses run by professional chambers; the amount of assistance will be increased; and procedures will be simplified, particularly to facilitate access to bank loans.

On entrepreneurship, the NAP seeks to eliminate unfair competition, maintain a favourable fiscal environment, boost financial support for enterprises, and breathe new life into the economy of the "wider Luxembourg region" (Grande Région).

On adaptability, the NAP provides notably for the drafting of a "lifelong learning programme": this will be based on courses run by the National Centre for Continuing Vocational Training (Centre national de formation professionnelle continue) and will embrace vocational guidance and induction courses for young people, retraining and vocational induction for adults (including measures for women seeking to re-enter the labour market), and additional customised training for enterprises and economic sectors.

Finally, with regard to equal opportunities for women and men, the Plan notes an increase in women's participation in the Luxembourg labour market. The employment rate for all people aged 20-64 climbed from 63.2% in 1996 to 66% in 1999 and this rise was solely due to women's increased participation, with their rate of employment rising from 46.4% to 52.1% during the same period, mainly due to the participation of foreign workers. The NAP proposes, under the terms of the programme for implementing the EU's Community programme on gender equality 2001-5 (EU0007264F), to develop an action programme involving exchanges of experiences and good practice and including information and training sessions analysing the inequalities that trigger gender pay differentials. This programme will be combined with transnational training courses for the social partners, and will examine job classification and the principle of equality, particularly with regard to pay; these matters are to be incorporated into collective agreements.