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Luxair drew fire for cutting costs without consulting employees Photo: Anouk Antony

Flurry of three-way labour talks as business fights crisis

The government in July pledged more overall business aid to cushion the economic shock of the pandemic, the first result of the so-called tripartite talks during the Covid-19 crisis, which has caused a 12% drop in euro area GDP in the second quarter alone. Many such talks with individual companies are set to take place over the coming months, as businesses navigate between continuing using the government's life support or laying off workers. Read our guide to Luxembourg's model of tripartite labour talks.

Army says not in the loop when disputed satellite chosen

Lawmakers were 'astounded' to hear Luxembourg's top general say on Monday that the army had not been involved in controversial plans for a military satellite it was deemed to run. Former Defence Minister Etienne Schneider is in hot water over the military satellite project LUXEOSys he initiated in 2018 after it turned out the budget at €309 million was twice as high as he had indicated.

Market volatility still high, CSSF's Zwick says

Months after the Covid-19 swept across the world and sent countries into lockdown, the volatility seen across asset classes remains far above pre-crisis levels with ups and downs still double the level of February's swings, one of the directors of Luxembourg's financial watchdog agency said on Thursday. The regulator now has a direct overview of redemption levels in over 120 entities representing some 90% of assets managed in Luxembourg, he said.

Elderly care homes were site of half of all Covid deaths

More than half of the Luxembourg residents that Covid-19 has killed were living in care homes, the Luxembourg Times has learned, the first time the country shed light on how the disease affected these dwellings for the elderly for whom the disease is especially fatal. Of the country's 124 fatalities from the disease, 64 were residents in such communal living institutions, the Health Ministry told this newspaper on Tuesday, breaking with its reluctance to detail the death toll in the country's more than 50 elderly centres and care homes.

Pandemic bolsters need for global tax reform, OECD says

Calls are rising for countries to agree on fairer tax rules, an official at the OECD said, as taxes are likely to rise because governments fund their heavy spending to support the economy during the pandemic. The pandemic is draining government coffers around the world as they offer financial aid in grants, loans and through expansionary fiscal policies such as tax breaks. But hundreds of billions could be gained if countries worked together to close loopholes for companies.

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