The Belgian branch of the Emeis group (formerly Orpea) announced Tuesday during an extraordinary works council the elimination of 150 jobs, the sale of five rest homes and the closure of two service residences for seniors in Belgium. In the Brussels Region, no closures but layoffs announced.
The company’s management announced during this extraordinary works council the implementation of a Renault plan and the dismissal of 150 people, mainly in the Brussels Region and Wallonia. This decision is taken in order to “better align workforce per residence relative to number of residents“, indicated the Emeis group in a press release.
The company currently has 51 rest and care homes (MRS) and 17 service residences in Belgium. It indicated that it was looking for buyers for five of these MRS due to investments “too heavy” or because these establishments “should be exploited by a better suited actor“, in the words of the group. Among the rest homes concerned, three are located in Wallonia and two in Flanders. Two service residences, in Leerbeek and Dilbeek in Flanders, will also cease their activities.
If no closure is planned in Brussels, job cuts will indeed take place as part of this rebalancing desired by management. As a reminder, closures had already taken place in the capital last year, but Orpea management then assured that layoffs were not planned.
This restructuring is one of the consequences of the new Brussels ordinance which plans to eliminate beds for the benefit of the public and the non-commercial.
Unions fear for residents’ safety
“Workers and their union representatives refuse to participate in a plan to reduce employment which will further jeopardize the safety of residents,” the unions denounced, recalling that the rest and care home sector “is facing a significant shortage of staff“.
They are also outraged by such a decision while the group has experienced “an increase in its turnover and a positive impact on the deficit which was reduced by two thirds“.
A strike notice was immediately filed to cover all actions surrounding this announcement, announced the common union front.
■ Victor de Thier’s explanations in Bonjour Bruxelles
Belgium
