Due to a reduction in regional subsidies, the OCMWs of the nineteen Brussels municipalities are at risk of losing more than two hundred jobs in 2024. The chairman of the Federation of Brussels Public Social Welfare Centers, Khalid Zian, warned about this on Monday. For him, the financial difficulties of governments as a result of several successive crises are no surprise, but Zian thinks the impact of the cuts is greater than expected.
The Brussels Parliament is currently discussing the 2024 draft budget of the region and the Common Community Commission (GGC). According to Khalid Zian, Minister Alain Maron will defend a budget “that goes against the general policy statement of the Prime Minister (Rudi Vervoort, ed.). In it it was announced that ‘significant budgets have been made available for the OCMWs to support families in the context of the energy crisis and for projects to give them access to their rights.'”
“An annual allowance of 20 million euros will disappear in 2024, which was intended to help people pay their increased energy bills. As a result, the nineteen Brussels OCMWs will have to fire employees who were supposed to support these people and provide them with assistance,” said Zian.
Financing of OCMWs reviewed
According to him, the departure of two hundred social workers means a major decline in quality guidance for tens of thousands of the most vulnerable Brussels residents, who can only rely on the OCMW for support.
For Zian, the financing of the Public Social Welfare Centers in Belgium must be completely revised, especially in light of increasing poverty and the fact that traditional social security mechanisms are inadequate, forcing thousands of citizens to turn to the Public Social Welfare Center.
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
