*Update 09.01.2023: the original survey had >1200 participants, this follow-up is not yet half way, please help to make this comparison survey representative! We need you!* As promised in October, we ask you to participate in this, our follow-up survey on the utility costs related to working from home in order to make a comparison with the answers you provided to our original survey (January 2021 – January 2022). We want to demonstrate any further change in costs: our first survey related to an expected increase in the consumption of energy but the issue now is related to increased prices. Energy prices have been rising steadily: so much so that the Commission is now discussing closing buildings as part of ‘Save gas for winter’. All this has an impact on us all, particularly those with lower salaries such as temporary staff (CAs and TAs) those lower down the salary scale such as secretaries and clerks (AST-SCs) and assistants (ASTs) or those living in more expensive places, such as Luxembourg [1]. The issue of additional costs of teleworking is long standing, let’s gather the evidence and keep making noise!
We have kept the questions the same to enable us to make a comparison with the original survey.
What action is still pending on our side?
- ask for Commission monthly consumption figures for utilities during the Covid teleworking period (16.03.2020-24.03.2022[2]) and the same figures recorded in the pre-Covid months, as a reference
- request a formal social dialogue with the administration to address this issue.
As always, we would love to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us or leave a comment below.
If you appreciate our work, please consider becoming a member of Generation 2004.
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[1] ‘The average rent paid in 2021 is around 27% higher for staff working in Luxembourg than in Brussels. It should be remembered that these are six-year average values, not just the observed rent for the current year.’ (Eurostat Staff Housing Survey, 2021). In March 2022 there were 12 actions proposed to increase the attractiveness of Luxembourg as a place of employment. Generation 2004 advocates for a housing allowance to address this (particularly for staff at the lower end of the salary scales (also available externally here)). See section ‘Attractiveness of Luxembourg/cost of living’ in our external resources.
[2] Why these dates? 100% teleworking started 16.03.2020 and the working time and hybrid working (WTHW) decision states that WFH/teleworking is (now) voluntary (Article 9(3)). But please note that (ostensibly) we always had the possibility to work from the office. Colleagues whose job could be done remotely but who were unable or unwilling to work from home were invited to return to the office even mid-pandemic.