A mouthpiece for all self-employed people

Although there are no precise statistics, it is estimated that around 29,000 people are self-employed in Luxembourg, around 20 per cent of whom are solopreneurs, i.e. sole traders who carry out their professional activities in their own name. While organisations such as the House of Entrepreneurship or the Chamber of Commerce cover numerous areas of entrepreneurship with their services, the focus here is always on companies, but not on the people behind the term "self-employed".

Born out of a Facebook group for mutual support, the Union des Indépendants already has over 1,700 members after one year (as of 30 January), who are exactly that: Self-employed people, company managers, freelancers and solopreneurs. Unlike in our neighbouring countries – think of the Union-Indépendants in France or the Verband der Gründer und Selbstständigen in Germany – until January 2024 there was no real association of self-employed people in Luxembourg that represented their own concerns with a united voice.

"During the pandemic, many of us realised that we were on our own when it came to difficult situations. While our employees continued to receive 80 per cent of their salary due to the possibility of short-time working, we employers often had to stop paying ourselves in order for the company to survive, " explains Union President Daniela Clara Moraru, who runs a company herself. It is not normal that you pay taxes and social security contributions for years, but as soon as you need financial help, no one is there to support you. That's why it's time to take action yourself, says the self-employed woman.