PwC part of Luxembourg's Covid contact tracing team
Consultancy and audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is now part of Luxembourg’s Covid-19 contact tracing efforts after a higher headcount was needed to deal with the more contagious Omicron variant, the government said in response to a parliamentary question.
The contact tracing team gets in touch with and advises people who have come into contact with a Covid-19 positive person on the steps they need to take, such as isolation.
"Staff under contract with PwC Luxembourg and [cleaning company] Samsic Facility Luxembourg receive the minimum salary corresponding to the level of the secondary school diploma and are entitled to either meal vouchers or one free meal per day", Health Minister Paulette Lenert and Employment Minister Georges Engel said in response to a parliamentary question on Friday.
The full team consists of civil servants, seconded Luxair employees, volunteers and private companies, such as audit firm PwC, the cleaning company Samsic and telemarketing and call centre firm LDL Connect.
In December, Luxembourg decided to recruit 50 full-time employees via a public tender to strengthen the contact tracing team because of the increased workload due to the Omicron variant. PwC was the only bidder, with Samsic Facilities as a subcontractor.
There are around 400 people in the team and salaries vary depending on qualifications and previous work experience or status within the civil service.
The first team members from PwC were hired on 3 February and the contract with the firm will end in June, the parliamentary response said. Staff from LDL Connect were hired based on a later tender to reinforce the staff working on the helpline.
PwC Luxembourg made headlines in 2014 when a whistleblower revealed the firm had helped conclude low-tax agreements with multinationals through Luxembourg's tax authority, in what came known as the LuxLeaks.
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