Fedasil is to use temporary workers for the first time to fill a part of its staffing shortage, the sectoral federation of temporary workers Federgon and the federal agency for the reception of asylum seekers announced on Friday.
The council of ministers just gave the green light, after facing many criticisms over the ongoing saturation of the Fedasil reception network for at least a year and a half. More than 2,000 refugee applicants, according to various associations, are currently sleeping rough outside due to a lack of space in a reception centre.
To try to solve the problem, Fedasil has opened several emergency centres, with more due to open in the coming weeks. This means that large numbers of staff are needed but Fedasil is struggling to find candidates.
There are currently 260 vacancies within the agency. In addition to working with Forem, Actiris and the VDAB, Fedasil will now use temporary workers.
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“This measure will soon be operational. We are currently studying how to proceed, what types of positions will be open, in which centres, etc.,” explained Benoît Mansy, spokesperson for Fedasil, to Belga.
“The use of temporary workers is part of the measures that will allow us to strengthen our teams and maximise the number of places in the reception centres.”
A framework agreement has been concluded between the Federal Public Service Strategy and Support (BOSA) on the one hand and the companies Randstad, Tempo-Team, Manpower and Start People on the other.
At the end of October, the Christian trade union CSC criticised the idea of using temporary workers. “It is high time the government took the mission of the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers seriously and made structural investments,” it said.
