Nico Daenens: “The budget generated by the increase in service vouchers should be used to increase the salaries for household help.”

It seems simple to me: the increase in the price of service vouchers should be used to increase the salaries for household help, and not to resolve other budgetary problems! Otherwise it will kill our sector. I’ve been asking for better working conditions for years, and I really hope our politicians will make the right choice now! A 10% pay rise is the minimum. Our domestic workers deserve it!

• Currently, the total hourly salary cost for help in the home is €25.47.

• So a 10% salary increase of 10% would cost an extra €2.54 per hour.

• Right now, negotiations are looking at an increase of €2.80 per hour: this includes a €10 service voucher and the elimination of the tax deduction.

 In other words, there is virtually no room if we want to increase the salaries of our household helpers. Companies cannot manage this situation solely through additional billing systems or extra contributions charged to the user. We also need more operational resources.

What’s more, if the new Flemish government keeps the increase for its own resources, it will force employers and workers in the sector into a new social conflict. We would then come up against obstacles arising from the fact the service voucher model was not being run in a sound and fair way.

You can read about my appeal and my proposals in Het Nieuwsblad, Trends and Het Belang van Limburg. And I was also invited to take part in a video report on Kanaal Z, where I spoke about the service voucher sector and the importance of better pay for our domestic workers through the price increase. You can watch the video here (from 03:20 to 06:20).