In committee of the Walloon Parliament, the PS (opposition) tried to catch up. But it didn’t work.
Emergency
“The Council of State explains that additional costs fall under contractual freedom between a company and its users. It can only be undermined by an act of a legislative nature.”explains socialist MP Eliane Tillieux. She accepts the argument: OK, Parliament can respond quickly to this request from the Council of State.
gullFor the system to be effective, the user must not pay more than to hire someone under the table.
Why does the PS want to return to a ban on additional costs? “The service voucher mechanism was put in place in 2001 to limit as much as possible the use of undeclared work for home work. For the system to be effective, the user must not pay more than to hire someone under the table. The elimination of additional costs meets the objectives of accessibility of services and equal treatment of users. she summarizes.
The MP recalls that, in 2023, the government decree also provided for “give some air“to service voucher companies, via the increase in price (the move to 10 euros instead of 9) as well as the automatic indexing of the voucher and regional intervention.”Enough to ensure the sustainability of businesses“, insists Eliane Tillieux. Who reminds us that “Companies can do what they want, outside of the subsidized service voucher system.“And subsidized, the sector is to the tune of 564 million euros in 2025.
The socialist group is asking for an urgent passage of this text during the plenary this Wednesday, since companies risk asking their customers for additional fees from January.
“Reassure the sector”
In short, the proposed decree aims to “clarify the situation and ensure legal certainty pending the final opinion of the Council of State“, underlines the PS group. “Indeed, let’s imagine that the Council of State reverses its decision to suspend the Walloon government’s decree of December 2023. What would the consequences be? Could customers who had to pay fees be reimbursed by the companies?“
At Ecolo and the PTB, we support the socialist proposal. And even if the current Walloon government is preparing a global reform of service vouchers, “we just want to mark out what already exists and which the State Council is calling into question. No more, no less. The sector needs to be reassured“, concludes Eliane Tillieux. “On the specific aspect of costs, the Council of State tells us that this cannot be a gesture of the government but of Parliament. This can be remedied quickly. Let’s take that already. The policy of small steps is sometimes the best“, still pleads the PS deputy.
“Unripe”
His plea will be in vain. In the majority in fact, Les Engagés and the MR make no secret of it for long: the urgency is not justified, since the companies have announced that they will not change anything initially. Except Home Clean Services and only for ironing activities.
And since Minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet (MR) is preparing a global reform, “which meets the expectations of users, workers and businesses, it is too early to comment on a proposal which is only partial“, estimates Anne Laffut (MR).
“The thinking is not mature“, says Sophie Fafchamps (Les Engagés). “We need to reform the sector, but we need consultation. We must not rush into a text which will simply repair a failed act of the former majority. I imagine that the PS wants to regularize a situation that it may have botched a little. It is on the form that the Council of State decided. The debate on additional costs is legitimate, there were big disparities between agencies. And then an ALE, an ASBL or a private company do not work in the same way”.
Tension
“There will be a reform of service vouchers”confirms Pierre-Yves Jeholet, who intends to do things broadly. He evokes an approach “macro”. He requested a full evaluation report from Forem. It’s in progress. “I’m working hard on it. This is an issue that is close to my heart. Action must be adjusted so that the system responds to the concerns of all parties. And additional costs are part of it. But to believe that we can resolve everything quickly is illusory.”decides the minister.
Which, in a more angry tone, calls into question the profitability figures of companies in the sector put forward by the opposition (the PS and the PTB at the very least) from the moment they come from studies by the CSC and the FGTB. Where it is particularly a question of good (or even very good) profitability of a large majority of service voucher companies. “The day I take this kind of study at face value…” mocks Minister MR.
“Home Clean Services used a Federgon study to go to the Council of State. Me, here in Parliament, I use the CSC and the FGTB to study“, retorts Eliane Tillieux, during a suddenly very tense exchange between the PS deputy and the liberal minister.
