Faced with the low unemployment rate, the Legault government is trying to push employment assistance organizations to merge or even close shop, we have learned The Press.
In a letter sent in recent days to several leaders of employability assistance organizations, the Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity announces that it has released an envelope of 5 million in order to “reduce the number of organizations in the same territory, when possible.
The “territorial reorganization” program also aims to “avoid continuing to finance” organizations that a “slight reduction in clientele” would be likely to “endanger financially,” indicates the letter.
The Ministry currently supports approximately 400 employment assistance organizations across the province, thanks to recurring funding of nearly 250 million.
The letter obtained by The Press specifies that the envelope of 5 million over two years could be used to pay professional fees to supervise the legal aspects of mergers or closure of organizations. The amounts could also be used to carry out feasibility analyzes or salary scale adjustments in the case of mergers, or to pool certain resources, such as specialized employees.
The Ministry justifies the program by the low unemployment rate and by a drop in the number of employment insurance and social assistance recipients in the population aged 15 to 64.
“There are a lot of concerns” related to this program, admits Nisrin Al Yahya, general director of the Specialized Workforce Services Network, which represents around fifty employment assistance organizations.
Over the past year, several of these organizations, which help vulnerable people obtain and maintain employment, have seen their funding reduced by 33%, due to failure to achieve objectives set by the government. They could face cuts of up to 15% for the 2024-2025 financial year, says Nisrin Al Yahya.
“The labor shortage has a very heavy back,” she laments, accusing the government of applying an “accounting logic” to these front-line aid organizations while the need for support in Employment of asylum seekers and new arrivals, in particular, is growing. “We have organizations that reached 150% of their support targets, but were cut due to an anticipated drop in their clientele. There is a big lack of long-term vision (on the part of the government),” said M.me Al Yahya.
“It’s true that last year, employment was particularly dynamic, but the last few months really haven’t been as favorable,” notes Laurence Marin, general director of the Regroupement des organizations Spécialés pour l’Employment des Personnes Disabilities. .
The economy is running out of steam. There are business closures and a slowdown in hiring. It is still risky to cut this type of service in the circumstances.
Laurence Marin, general director of the Group of specialized organizations for the employment of disabled people
The organization Intégration Jeunesse Québec, located in eastern Montreal, fears that the reorganization will “weaken an essential community fabric.”
“During the pandemic, employability organizations offered a lot of support to help a large part of the population,” underlines its general director, Élodie Boisseau.
“Helping people build their CVs and prepare for interviews is only a very small percentage of what we do. More than 80% of the obstacles to employment for our clients are personal issues, for which we help people concretely,” emphasizes M.me Bushel.
reference: www.lapresse.ca