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Title: Luxembourg Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic parliamentary
form of government. The role of the Grand Duke is mainly ceremonial and
administrative. The Prime Minister is the leader of the dominant party
in the popularly elected Parliament. The Council of State, whose
members are appointed by the Grand Duke, serves as an advisory body to
the Parliament. The judiciary is an independent branch.
The Government effectively controls the security apparatus, which
consists of police and gendarmerie.
Luxembourg has a prosperous market economy with active industrial and
service sectors. The standard of living and level of social benefits
are high.
The Constitution and laws provide for the full range of human rights,
and the Government respects these rights in practice.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The law prohibits such practices, and there were no reports that
officials employed them. Prison conditions meet minimum international
standards, and the Government permits visits by human rights monitors.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile, and
the Government observes this prohibition.
The law stipulates that judicial warrants are required for arrests
except in cases of hot pursuit. Within 24 hours of arrest the police
must lodge charges and bring the suspect before a judge. Suspects are
not held incommunicado. They are given immediate access to an attorney,
at government expense for indigents. The presiding judge may order
release on bail.
Exile is never imposed.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the
Government respects this provision in practice. The judiciary provides
citizens with a fair and efficient judicial process. The independent
judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court, whose members are appointed by
the Grand Duke. Defendants are presumed innocent. They have the right
to public trial, and are free to cross-examine witnesses and to present
evidence. Either the defendant or the prosecutor can appeal a ruling;
appeal results in a completely new judicial procedure, with the
possibility that a sentence may be increased or decreased.
There were no reports of political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The Constitution prohibits such practices, government authorities
generally respect these prohibitions, and violations are subject to
effective legal sanction.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the Government
respects these rights in practice. Print media are privately owned.
The privately owned national radio and television company has exclusive
television broadcasting rights within the country. A new permit system
allows establishment of other private radio stations. Radio and
television broadcasts from neighboring countries are freely available.
Academic freedom is fully respected.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The law provides for these rights, and the Government respects them in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government
respects this right in practice. There is no state religion, but the
State pays the salaries of Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish
clergy, and several local governments maintain sectarian religious
facilities.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
The law provides for these rights and the Government respects them in
practice.
The Government cooperates with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and does not
expel those having a valid claim to refugee status. It has also allowed
more than 1,800 persons from the former Yugoslavia who do not qualify
for refugee status to remain in a temporary protected status.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Luxembourg is a multiparty democracy. Suffrage is universal for
citizens aged 18 and above, and balloting is secret. National
parliamentary elections are held every 5 years.
Women are active in political life. Ten of 60 Members of Parliament and
3 members of the Cabinet are women. The mayors of several major
municipalities, including the capital, are women.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
Human rights groups operate without government restriction. Government
officials are cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
The law prohibits racial, sexual, or social discrimination, and the
Government enforces these provisions. Blatant societal discrimination
occurs only rarely.
Women
Neither society nor the Government is tolerant of violence against
women, and the government prosecutes persons accused of such. The
organization that assists women in distress reports an average of 300
calls, 160 walk-ins, and 38 residential admissions per year in recent
years. In addition, there are 150-200 cases of sexual abuse in an
average year.
Women enjoy the same property rights as men. In the absence of a
prenuptial agreement, property is divided equally upon dissolution of a
marriage.
The law mandates equal pay for equal work. To date there have been no
work-related discrimination suits. Working women constitute 36.2
percent of the work force (1994 data). Since 1988 the average annual
increase in employment for women has been 4.6 percent, compared to an
increase of 3.1 percent per year for males, but the rate is not stable
across age groups. In January 1995, the Government created a new
Ministry for the Promotion of Women in order to encourage a climate of
equal treatment and opportunity in fact as well as law.
Children
The Government demonstrates in strong commitment to children's rights
and welfare through its well-funded systems of public education and
medical care. The Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Family oversee
implementation of the Government's programs for children. Child abuse
does not appear to be widespread, and laws against child abuse are
enforced. The Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse, a
government organization created in 1984, estimates there may be some 300
cases a year. The Association works closely with other social service
organizations and maintains a hot line for victims or witnesses.
People with Disabilities
There is no discrimination against disabled persons in employment,
education, or in the provision of other state services. The law does
not directly mandate accessibility for the disabled, but the Government
pays subsidies to builders to construct "disabled-friendly" structures.
Despite government incentives, only a modest proportion of buildings and
public transportation have been modified to accommodate people with
disabilities.
The Government helps disabled persons obtain employment and professional
education. By law, businesses and enterprises with at least 25
employees must fill a quota for hiring disabled workers and must pay
them prevailing wages. The quota is fixed according to the total number
of employees, and employers who do not fulfill them are subject to
sizable monthly fines. There have been no known complaints of
noncompliance.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Although foreigners constitute over 30 percent of the total population,
antiforeigner incidents remain infrequent. Local and national councils
for foreigners were elected to promote the integration of foreigners
under a 1993 law and to advise on issues concerning foreigners.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
All workers have the right to associate freely and choose their
representatives. About 65 percent of the labor force is unionized.
Membership is not mandatory. Unions operate free of governmental
interference. The two largest labor federations are linked to, but
organized independently of, major political parties. The law prohibits
discrimination against strikes and strike leaders, and a labor tribunal
deals with complaints on these matters.
The Constitution provides all workers with the right to strike except
for government workers providing essential services such as police,
armed forces, and hospital personnel. Legal strikes may occur only
after a lengthy conciliation procedure between the parties; the
Government's National Conciliation Office must certify that conciliation
efforts have ended for a strike to be legal. A legal 4-week strike by
tilers over collective contract disputes was ended following personal
mediation by the Prime Minister, averting a general strike by
construction workers. This was the first legal labor strike in over 2
years. There have been no illegal strikes since 1979.
Unions maintain unrestricted contact with international bodies.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law provides for and protects collective bargaining, which is
conducted in periodic negotiations between centralized organizations of
unions and employers. Enterprises having 15 or more employees must have
worker representatives to conduct collective bargaining. Enterprises
with over 150 employees must form joint works councils composed of equal
numbers of management and employee representatives. In enterprises with
more than 1,000 employees, one-third of the membership of the
supervisory boards of directors must be employees' representatives.
The law provides for adjudication of employment-related complaints, and
it authorizes labor tribunals to deal with them. A tribunal can impose
a fine on an employer found guilty of antiunion discrimination, but it
cannot require the employer to reinstate a worker fired for union
activities.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and neither occurs.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The law prohibits employment of children under age 15 and requires
children to remain in school until age 16. Apprentices who are 15 or 16
years old must attend school in addition to their job training.
Adolescent workers under age 18 receive additional legal protection,
including limits on overtime and the number of hours that can be worked
continuously. The Ministries of Labor and Education effectively monitor
the enforcement of national child-labor and education laws.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The law provides for minimum wage rates at levels that vary according to
the worker's age and number of dependents. The minimum for a single
worker over age 18 is approximately $8.22 per hour (Lux F 246.69).
Supporting a family is difficult on the minimum wage, but most employees
earn more than the minimum.
National legislation mandates a workweek of 40 hours. Premium pay is
required for overtime or unusual hours. Employment on Sunday is
permitted in continuous-process industries (steel, glass, and
chemicals), and for certain maintenance and security personnel; other
industries have requested permission for Sunday work, which the
Government has granted on a case by case basis. Work on Sunday, allowed
for some retail employees, must be entirely voluntary and compensated at
double the normal wage; and employees must be given compensatory time
off on another day, equal to the number of hours worked on Sunday. The
law requires rest breaks for shift workers and limits all workers to a
maximum of 10 hours per day including overtime. All workers receive at
least 5 weeks of paid vacation yearly, in addition to paid holidays.
The law mandates a safe working environment. An inspection system
provides severe penalties for infractions. The Labor Inspectorate of
the Ministry of Labor, and the Accident Insurance Agency of the Social
Security Ministry, carry out their inspections effectively.
No laws or regulations specifically guarantee workers the right to
remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to
continued employment, but every worker has the right to ask the Labor
Inspectorate to make a determination, and the Inspectorate usually does
so expeditiously.
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