The charity Promemploi, which advocates for key socio-economic forces, pushing to develop childcare to support family and professional lives in the Belgian province, has reported on the situation. Director Sylvie Lefèbvre says: “The situation is ok but fragile. The province has 3,083 places for young children, 88 nurseries and over 200 registered childminders.”
But occupation rates are high, with many nurseries full in the majority of municipalities, leaving many families on waitlists.
“The coverage rate is 40.8%, or 40 places for 100 children. We are not the best in the Wallonie-Brussels federation, nor the worst.”
The non-profit organisation is pushing for the opening of new facilities, but this doesn’t compensate for the closures seen almost everywhere. Lefèbvre explains: “The childcare voucher system in the Grand Duchy was a major blow for us. Many children migrated to childcare facilities on the other side of the border, which not only led to the closure of facilities here but also the shutdown of some independent providers.”
Naturally, Luxembourg has been able to attract qualified cross-border staff, thus exacerbating recruitment difficulties over the Belgian border.
Other dangers threaten the sector. The austerity measures demonstrated by the government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation send a negative signal, and the reform of public employment subsidies could further weaken the sector. “The details are not yet defined, but there are fears that it will be an opportunity to review the method and volume of subsidy redistribution. And early childhood education receives a great deal of it.”
This potential non-indexation of subsidies has been explained to local stakeholders who risk facing difficult months and years ahead. “Choices will undoubtedly have to be made, which is why we took the liberty of informing the authorities so that they can act with full knowledge of the facts in order to limit the effects on children, families and workers in the sector”, concludes Lefèbvre.
