European Parliament crèche scandal exposes failed privatisation cycle

The European Parliament's Wayenberg crèche in Brussels was meant to showcase the institution's commitment to social values. Instead it has become a case study in how not to run childcare. Since 2020 the centre has been operated by two private companies, both of which have left staff overwhelmed, children without continuity, and unions shut out of decisions. The latest tender, concluded after French operator People&baby walked away from its contract early, has been awarded to a new entity set up by the previous provider Esedra, a company that had already drawn heavy criticism.

A cycle of failed providers at Wayenberg

Esedra ran the crèche until 2020. Staff represented by EPSU, SETCA and CNE reported chronic understaffing, excessive workloads and high turnover. The Parliament responded by awarding the contract to People&baby, a French group that presents itself as a premium provider. The problems did not disappear. Workers described a chaotic environment where their ability to care for children was severely compromised by the company's failures. In 2024 People&baby terminated the contract before its expiry, citing management difficulties that unions say were of the company's own making.

The pattern is familiar across Europe: a public body outsources a care service to a private operator on a fixed-term contract, the operator cuts costs to protect margins, quality deteriorates, and when the contract ends, or is terminated early, the tendering process starts again. Continuity, which child development specialists consider essential, is sacrificed to procurement rules designed for buying office supplies, not raising toddlers.

The tender that changed nothing

When the Parliament reopened the tender after People&baby's departure, the outcome dismayed unions. The winning bid came from a newly created company linked to Esedra, the original operator whose record had prompted the switch to People&baby in the first place. A People&baby subsidiary also bid. The Parliament's administration did not consult the trade unions representing crèche staff before or during the process, despite their direct knowledge of conditions on the ground.

This exclusion is not accidental. EU procurement directives allow contracting authorities to involve stakeholders, but they do not require it. The Parliament's Bureau, which oversees administrative matters, has consistently treated the crèche as a standard service contract. Staff representatives argue that childcare is not a standard service: the 'users' are infants who cannot complain, and the 'workforce' is predominantly female, low-paid and easily replaced.

People&baby and the profit model

People&baby's business model is detailed in Les Ogres, an investigation by journalist Victor Castanet published in 2022. The book describes a system built on maximising public subsidies while minimising qualified staff. Ratios are stretched to the legal limit or beyond; turnover is high because wages and conditions drive experienced educators away. In 2022 an overburdened employee at a People&baby facility in Lyon made a fatal error that killed an 11-month-old child. The company has denied systemic failings, but the incident triggered inspections across its French network.

The Lyon case is not an outlier. French prosecutors have opened investigations into multiple People&baby sites. The company remains a major recipient of public funds through the complément de mode de garde subsidy system. Its expansion into Belgium, Germany and Italy has been financed by private equity, which expects returns. When a crèche becomes a vehicle for financial extraction, the incentives align against the very purpose of the service.

A European pattern, not a Brussels exception

The Wayenberg scandal mirrors developments elsewhere. In the United Kingdom, private equity-backed nursery chains have driven up fees for parents while staffing ratios have slipped. The Competition and Markets Authority found in 2023 that the largest providers were earning margins well above comparable sectors, yet investment in staff training had fallen. In Sweden, long held up as a model of universal childcare, the introduction of profit-making 'free schools' and private preschool chains in the 1990s led to segmentation: children in affluent areas get better staff ratios, while those in deprived municipalities get the minimum the law allows.

Research from the OECD and national institutes consistently shows that publicly managed or non-profit systems deliver more stable staffing, lower turnover and better outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The mechanism is straightforward: when the employer is the state or a municipal body, the budget cycle is annual, not quarterly, and the performance metric is child welfare, not EBITDA.

MEPs push for direct employment

The Parliament's own members have not ignored the problem. In 2020, while Esedra was still the operator, the plenary adopted a resolution calling for transparency in the tendering process and insisting that children's well-being and staff working conditions be prioritised. The resolution passed with a broad majority across political groups. It changed nothing: the administration proceeded with the People&baby contract on the same terms.

More recently a French MEP tabled a proposal to exclude People&baby and its affiliated entities from future Parliament procurement. The same MEP advocated moving to direct employment of crèche staff, the model used by the European Commission for its own childcare centres. Commission crèches are run by civil servants and contract agents on EU staff regulations. Turnover is low, qualifications are high, and the service is integrated into the institution's human resources framework. The Parliament's Bureau has so far declined to adopt either measure.

Why the Parliament's credibility is at stake

The European Parliament legislates on workers' rights, gender equality, work-life balance and early childhood education. It adopts directives that member states must transpose into national law. When its own workplace fails the standards it sets for others, the gap between rhetoric and reality becomes a political liability. The crèche is small, it serves roughly 100 children, but it is visible. Every MEP, official and journalist who passes the Wayenberg building sees the entrance. The scandal has been raised in committee hearings, written questions and press conferences.

There is also a practical cost. High turnover among crèche staff forces parents, many of them parliamentary assistants on short contracts, to scramble for alternatives. Some leave their jobs. The Parliament's gender equality objectives, which depend on accessible childcare, are undermined by the very service meant to support them. The Bureau's refusal to engage with unions suggests a preference for administrative convenience over structural reform.