It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances. Just as the Orpea residential care group in France is under fire, and the Antwerp residential care center Park Lane is under increased surveillance, one of the previous directors of Park Lane will soon have to answer to court.
• Flemish Care Inspectorate takes a closer look at Orpea rest homes
Jelle L. had been in office for almost a year and a half, when the case came to light in 2021. Orpea Belgium, the group to which wzc Park Lane belongs, has filed a civil suit. ‘After a judicial investigation, the council chamber has decided to refer the man. He is charged with house theft, breach of trust, computer fraud and abuse of weak persons. The case will be heard next month,” said Kristof Aerts, the spokesperson for the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office.
According to our information, it concerns large amounts that were ‘borrowed’ or ‘stolen’ from two residents. The former director would have used the bank card of one of those residents for this.
An employee who left the residential care center when the abuse came to the surface says the victims were “devastated”. It gave this man the last push to quit his job. “I couldn’t reconcile this with the mission of the residential care center.”
Working conditions
The man has been disturbed by the working conditions for some time. ‘There was a constant shortage of personnel. I could hardly ever take a day off, and often had to work double shifts. Then I had already done the evening shift, and they asked me to also do the night. I pledged for the residents’ sake. You don’t want to let those people down. I assumed that I would see an effect of this on my pay slip, but that was not the case. I want to be flexible, but flexibility has to come from both sides.’
The three major unions met with CEO Geert Uytterschaut late last week, just to discuss Orpea employees’ complaints about working conditions. It has been agreed that talks will be started to arrive at a new collective labor agreement (CLA). The previous one dates back to 2015 and was obtained after strikes in the group’s residences.
Seven years without social consultation
The recent conversation is not the result of the fuss in France around the Orpea group. It was previously planned, but had to be postponed at the end of December due to the umpteenth covid wave. ‘We have been working on this for a year’, says Johan Van Eeghem, federal secretary of the BBTK union. ‘Seven years without collective consultation is too long. Orpea has work to do and the management has said they are aware of that.’
The unions are asking for more hands on the floor, also in support functions, so that healthcare staff can fully focus on healthcare. They ask to work with ‘realistic timetables’ and not with theoretical ones. They also ask for the working conditions to be modernized to make working at Orpea more attractive: seniority leave, thirteenth month, fixed schedules for part-time workers and meal vouchers.
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