Some 150 people gathered Thursday morning in front of the office of the Brussels Minister of Employment and Economy, Laurent Hublet (Les Engagés), to denounce a measure that threatens up to 735 jobs in social integration service vouchers.
At the call of the Brussels Federation of Socio-Professional Integration and Social Economy Organisations (FeBISP), along with the FGTB and CSC unions, demonstrators chanted "No unemployment" and "Save jobs."
A 2024 decree regulates how service vouchers (government-subsidised cleaning services) can be combined with other employment aid (additional subsidies for hiring disadvantaged workers).
The Brussels Ministry of Employment has introduced a new, stricter reading of this law.
Until now, "insertion" agencies have received both the standard service voucher payment and additional employment integration subsidies.
The new "strict application" of the law would exclude these 13 social organisations from that support starting January 1, 2027.
FeBISP maintains that this interpretation was previously the one followed by all stakeholders.
In 2024, these operators responded to a call for integration projects, which was subsequently approved by Brussels Economy and Employment, Actiris (the Brussels employment agency), and the Advisory Council for the Social Economy.
The sector is denouncing a change of course implemented without consultation, especially since a new call for projects is scheduled for May 29, 2026.
Organisations also point to a timeline deemed untenable, which undermines the ability of these organisations to plan.
"There are more than 700 jobs, almost 740, that are at risk," explained Tatiana Vanessa Vial Grösser, director of FeBISP.
According to her, the measure "is really not a budgetary issue" and, on the contrary, risks "increasing unemployment in Brussels."
She emphasises that 683 of the jobs concerned are domestic workers, "mostly women," often heads of households.
From the union side, Luca Ciccia (CSC) denounced "the rather scandalous dismissal of 750 people" and "an unacceptable gift to for-profit services."
He points to a contradiction with regional job creation objectives: "Eliminating more than 700 positions makes absolutely no sense."
According to him, the measure would encourage a shift towards commercial operators, to the detriment of social economy structures that offer more protective supervision and working conditions.
For the operators, the impact would be direct. "We are 13 organisations threatened with exclusion from a support program, and we won't survive," stated François Ledecq, administrator of a service voucher company, Acelya.
"735 jobs represents 100% of the workforce." He describes a workforce of domestic workers who are "predominantly female," often low-skilled, and from disadvantaged backgrounds, whose "future is very uncertain."
Contracts are guaranteed until December 31st, but "no certainty" exists beyond that date, with decisions expected as early as June.
A meeting with the minister is scheduled for next Wednesday. The organisations hope to maintain the current arrangements and do not rule out further action if no solution is found.
