Around 150 people assembled in the large hall in central Esch on Friday to discuss further steps for Caritas. The OGBL, which represents around 500 Caritas employees, organised the event.
On the agenda: the rights of those affected. The options range from boosting Caritas, to having another operator continue its activities, all the way to declaring insolvency.
For the time being, therefore, Caritas has its hands tied and its staff find themselves in uncertainty.
As soon as the theft of 60 million euros came to light, it became clear that the reserves would only last for another two months. However, despite freezing its subsidies, the government has announced it will continue to pay for various services that Caritas employees provide, such as its socio-educational field, or accompanying homeless individuals and refugees.
Smail Suljic from OGBL finds consolation in the fact that the volunteering sector lacks staff to begin with:
"That's our pressure point, so to say. We already struggle with a shortage of staff, and if an organisation like Caritas with 500 employees disappears, we will experience an even greater shortage in the sector. That's why, despite the negative news, I'm optimistic that these people won't lose their jobs."
The union has already requested an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Luc Frieden, as well as with the administrative councillors of Caritas.
