An NGO that campaigns for the right of non-Belgian workers has highlighted the often precarious situation of au pairs in Belgium, many of whom become victims of exploitation, Belga News Agency reports.
Fairwork Belgium said that it received 589 cases of abuse between 2014 and 2022. In terms of repartition, Flanders is the region with the greatest proportion of au pairs (72% of those in Belgium work there). The region's inspection services note that in more than a third of cases, the rules are not respected. Abuses have also been identified in Brussels and Wallonia.
Nationwide figures in 2022 numbered 397 au pairs in Flanders, 89 in the capital and 67 in Wallonia, although these numbers only apply to non-EU nationals. Fairwork concentrates its efforts on improving working conditions for workers without legal residence or in a precarious residence situation. It found that some au pairs are chronically underpaid and isolated from comforts and protections enjoyed in other sectors.
"I was completely cut off from the world and the emotional abuse was constant. I only received €60 for my three months of work," stated a young au pair working in Arlon. In Belgium, legislation requires a minimum remuneration of €450 for 20 hours of work per week.
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The NGO also denounced the system of au pair agencies that the young employees are obliged to pass through: "When there is a conflict with the host family, the agency will almost always take the family's side," said Jan Knockaert, coordinator of Fairwork.
Au pairs are typically young people who see the opportunity as a way of discovering another country and learning a language by caring for children and carrying out household tasks. However, a number of host families take advantage of their relative youth to use them as a cheap alternative to more expensive childcare.
"It is time to end the hypocrisy and recognise that au pairs are workers," Fairwork stated, adding that this view is shared by the National Labour Council.
