Welfare centres give a cool reception to Van Bossuyt's circular on benefit claimants' readiness to work
The minister lists when someone is insufficiently willing to work and says the approach has been too lax for too long; the federations of welfare centres see no added value and regret the lack of consultation.
Federal Social Integration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA) on Friday sent a new circular to the public social welfare centres (OCMW/CPAS) on readiness to work, a condition that has long applied to anyone receiving the minimum income. In the circular she lists concrete elements the centres can use to judge whether someone is sufficiently willing to work, Bruzz and La Libre report. Those who are not may lose their support or be refused it. According to the minister, the approach in the past was too lax and readiness to work was too often treated as secondary.
Under the circular, cultural or religious reasons may not be grounds for an exception. Anyone who refuses available childcare, a feasible adapted schedule, training or guidance without good reason may also be judged insufficiently willing to work. A client must show that they are taking steps to learn the language. Health problems do not automatically mean someone cannot work at all: the centres must also consider part-time or adapted work. Students on the minimum income may be asked to be available at weekends and during holidays. The centres continue to assess each situation individually and take the final decision.
The circular has gone down badly with the welfare centres. The Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG) says it adds nothing, Bruzz reports. Sébastien Lepoivre, chair of the federation of Brussels welfare centres, says that in eight years as a centre chair he has never heard a religious reason for refusing work. He believes the minister is raising a problem that does not exist, and points out that the centres already sanction people who do not want to work. According to Lepoivre, 53 percent of the unemployed people excluded from benefits in Brussels now receive the minimum income, whereas the federal government had counted on 30 percent.
The federation of Walloon welfare centres is also reserved. Its chair Alain Vaessen tells Belga, as quoted by La Libre, that the circular came as a surprise and regrets that there was no consultation on a text with a major impact on frontline social services. He finds it odd that the circular anticipates a reform of the law on the individualised social integration project that is still being drafted. The federation is commissioning an initial impact study to be discussed on 4 November.