Urgent refinancing of nurseries!

June 14, 2024 –

3 visits

The Local and Regional Administrations (ALR) sector of Brussels is scandalized by the subsidy of €1.2 million granted by the Office of the Minister of Early Childhood, Madame Linard, for public nurseries in Brussels and which is to be “shared” between the 19 municipalities.
After multiple mobilizations of childcare workers over the last 4 years, while the early childhood sector is demanding long-term refinancing of nurseries, particularly in order to promote the profession to make it more attractive and to be able to compensate for the shortage in this function, this “poisoned gift” from the Minister to be shared between the 19 municipalities of Brussels amounts to some EUR 63,157.89 per municipality. The equivalent of just over 1 full time job! Minister Clerfayt’s circular indicates the terms and conditions for granting this subsidy: it will be granted for the compensatory commitment to the implementation of a reduction in working time of 15 hours for childcare workers over 50 years old or of 30 hours for over 55s or 45 hours for over 60s!
We are far from the 30-hour week in 4 days which would indeed have a positive impact on the health and prevention of MSDs of these workers. It is therefore not a question of additional hands at all but of a part of the staff who would be less on the ground and a committed person who would share their time between several crèches (potentially not even for the total duration of a period full)… UNFEASIBLE!
At this stage, we all have the same image in mind: we are starved, then crumbs are thrown at us to share among 19 people, like monkeys in a zoo! INDIGNORABLE!
This system is so complex for the municipalities to implement that we fear that even the 19 employers will not understand it and will not want to apply this circular given that they have no obligation to do so and that It is unknown whether this subsidy will be renewed in subsequent years.
Furthermore, the common union front has been warning and denouncing for a long time the massive attacks on our social achievements and the privatization of our public services, including daycare centers. European austerity policies want to put in place new budgetary restrictions in public services as well as in crèches, which will strongly penalize the population, in particular the most deprived, as well as workers whose working conditions will deteriorate.
Workers in so-called essential daycare centers during the pandemic, who care for and look after our children, are still waiting today for a real improvement in their working conditions and their profession!
They must deal daily with constant understaffing, a heavy mental and physical load, constant vigilance and risks to health and safety at work; burnouts and musculoskeletal problems are legion!
Implementing a real end-of-career plan would allow them to hold on! This is not the case with this measure! The situation therefore remains catastrophic in our nurseries! Stop budgetary austerity!
Enough staff commitment!
Wage increase, 10% now!
The real collective reduction in working time to 30 hours per week in 4 days, with maintenance of
salary and compensatory hiring!
A real policy of appointing workers – Stop privatization!
Improving well-being – Stop dysfunctional management!