2023-09-08 05:42:00
Employers are asking to increase service vouchers by 5 euros. The three largest employers in the service voucher sector are sounding the alarm and calling for a review of the service voucher to address management difficulties. “It’s a cry for help, because the sector is on the verge of collapse”they say.
An analysis that employers’ organizations commissioned by Graydon Creditsafe shows, in particular, that half of service voucher companies are currently in deficit. The price of a service voucher (€9/h) has been the same since 2014, but the costs for employers have increased significantly in recent years.
Companies that are still making profits are seeing their margins decline. The lack of reasonable funding is also to the detriment of the domestic helpers themselves, who see training and support gradually disappear.
According to employers, an increase in the value of the service voucher by 5 euros would give the sector a sustainable perspective.
A housekeeper today earns on average €13.50 gross per hour, a price set by collective agreements in the sector. A full-time contract of 38 hours per week provides a monthly salary of between €2,050 and €2,250 net.
The regions cover the difference between the price of the service voucher and the salary, but this assistance does not cover all the costs linked to the activity of the agencies. Not all employers are asking for a 5 euro increase in the service voucher.
The Walloon Federation of integration companies (Initiatives) and the Consultation Platform of organizations representing the social economy in French-speaking Belgium (concerte) indicated on Thursday that they do not support the request for an increase of 5 euros in the service voucher .
The organizations “firmly” oppose the request of the employers’ federations to “ensure the balance of the system”. “Such a significant increase in the service voucher would be unsustainable for the lower middle classes”, support the two organizations in the press release. In addition, they indicate that this would encourage undeclared work, but also that “the Walloon government’s proposal to increase the service voucher by 1 euro already makes it possible to structure the sector in this period of crisis.”
The FGTB, CSC and CGSLB also reacted to the announcement in a press release on Thursday. “The sector is 70% subsidized by the public authorities”, say the unions. “We are and remain of the view that public money should be used for the welfare of domestic helpers and not to further enrich a wealthy minority of shareholders.”
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