Wolff stated that in 20 EU member states, teachers are vaccinated as a priority, which leads him to reiterate his demand to vaccinate "essential professions" as a priority in Luxembourg. The government and the CGFP agreed on Monday to give certain priorities to teachers and police officers, but not only.
For the president of the CGFP, it is up to the authorities to draw up lists of employees that they consider "essential" to the proper functioning of the state. However, two conditions must be respected, Wolff added: people over 45 should not benefit from this priority, as they should already be vaccinated, and this decision must still be validated by the Ethics Council.
However, the authorities did not accept the CGFP's request to let people about to be vaccinated choose their vaccine, a decision which Wolff regrets. In his eyes, this option might have encouraged "some sceptics to get vaccinated despite their reluctance".
The CGFP also supports the request of the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) and the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) to organise a tripartite in the private sector. Wolff explained that while the way out of the pandemic is currently a priority, the question of who will pay for the consequences of the crisis "will have to be asked at some point". It is not conceivable, according to the CGFP president, that private individuals will have to pay for the consequences of the crisis, as has been the case in other crises.
Wolff went on to say that the situation was not conducive to negotiating salary increases in the public service "when the very existence of some people is at stake". The CGFP President stressed that it was too early to talk about future increases and that it was better to wait until the crisis was resolved. Wolff thinks that it is better to have a global view of the country's financial situation before the start of the negotiations instead of promising "gifts that might never arrive".
He concluded by reiterating his request that people should be able to choose their vaccines, but acknowledged that "politics does not always do what the CGFP wants".
