The Wallonia-Brussels Federation is over two years late in reimbursing schools for teachers’ travel expenses, and the bill now amounts to millions of euros, La Libre Belgique and La Dernière Heure reported on Monday.
School staff members and directors have been long entitled to financial aids for travel between home and the workplace. Schools then turn to government services to recover the advanced sums. The process is onerous and strict but "government services reimburse the amounts paid to the institution" within three months after receiving a claim declaration, can be read in a circular.
In reality, however, three months have turned into two and a half years of waiting, and the bill now amounts to several million euros.
"Without refinancing the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, we are headed for disaster," explained President of CSC-Education Bernard Lahaye.
Confronting the debt for teacher travel expenses, "from extra cost to extra cost, the day will come when we will no longer be able to act. It is high time we think about all of this prospectively."
The Brussels Times
