“Of course it’s unfortunate that this has happened to one of our members [Caritas, editor’s note], but our priority for the federation is to protect the sector. Today, there are a lot of negative things being said about the management of the non-profit sector, that there are no controls, etc., when in fact this is not true. But that’s not true, and we now have a certain fear that we will fall into another extreme and over-regulate the sector, which will generate additional costs,” explained Thomas Lentz, secretary general of Fedas, on Wednesday 25 September.

The Fédération des acteurs du secteur social au Luxembourg (which represents 195 members and some 15,000 employees) was organising its first Social Sector Day, and , has not been without consequences for the sector. “The risk is that the budget that the state spends on the social sector will remain the same but will be allocated to other priorities, and that the most disadvantaged, beneficiaries and employees will pay the consequences. And we fear that not all needs will be covered,” continued Lentz.

Establishing a culture of internal control

The secretary general also regretted that Fedas had not been invited to the table for discussions with the relevant ministries. “We are generally calling for a structured dialogue, we want to have regular exchanges, and not just when there are crises, when we often have to force the government’s hand. We want to be included in the discussion, especially when we say we need to change governance, risk management and change or adapt internal controls. For us, it’s very important to include Fedas, precisely to find improvements in relation to these three elements that are adapted to the sector, that hit the target, and therefore reduce the risk of such an affair happening again, and without creating a gas factory.”

Fedas has also set up a mini-crisis unit--not on the Caritas case itself--but on the impact on the social sector. “We have decided to be proactive, with proposals such as the professionalisation and remuneration of board members, because most of our members are not-for-profit organisations. We need to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the board of directors, the general meeting and a management team responsible for day-to-day management. If there isn’t a certain culture of internal control, you miss out on crucial information. It’s a culture that needs to be installed in all structures, freedom of expression must be guaranteed and no employee should fear for their job if they speak out. But simply taking books on risk management, management control and governance and translating them into law is not the solution,” insists the Fedas secretary general.

And the social sector, which includes youth work (crèches, halfway houses, etc.), the elderly, the disabled and social cohesion, has other priorities than dealing with the consequences of the Caritas affair. “We have a new collective agreement due to start on 1 January. We have contacted the labour ministry to clarify certain points, but we haven’t had a response yet,” says Lentz. “We therefore currently have 20,000 employees who risk no longer having a collective agreement on 1 January.”

This article was originally published in .