Social workers and administrative staff at the Public Centre for Social Welfare (CPAS) in Anderlecht will strike on Tuesday to protest against "extremely difficult" working conditions, the joint trade union front announced on Monday.
The Christian Trade Union (CSC), the Liberal Union (SLFP), and the Socialist Union (CGSP) lament that management has not responded to the emergency plan developed with staff in December.
The issues at CPAS Anderlecht were highlighted in a report by VRT’s programme Pano, where two undercover journalists obtained social integration income from CPAS without meeting the qualifying criteria or living in Anderlecht. The report also exposed the immense pressure on social workers due to an excessively high workload.
"The workload for social workers and administrative staff at CPAS Anderlecht has been far too high for years, making it impossible to perform their tasks and social investigations correctly, not to mention meeting legal deadlines," the unions said, citing an average of 200 cases per social worker.
This situation has resulted in a "loss of knowledge and experience" and a "breakdown of the hierarchical structure," according to workers’ representatives. Burnout, depression, and high staff turnover have also emerged from these challenging conditions.
The CSC, SLFP and CGSP, in collaboration with the staff, developed an emergency plan with 11 measures aimed at "adjusting the current workload." However, they stressed that these short-term measures do not address the long-standing structural issues that staff have faced for years, emphasising that more substantial solutions are needed.
This plan was submitted to management on December 18, but has received no response. As a result, CPAS staff will go on strike on Tuesday.
