- ATD Fourth World

The subject of our workshop was “business and the integration of the most disadvantaged workers”.

Various new projects have been presented by some companies:  the experiences with the professional integration of the poorest in Belgium and the Netherlands followed by Gustave Bruyndonckx and Stan Leyers, the integration project of Tefal by Paul Rivier, the strategies of local partnership by the Ondeo company, supplier of drinking water in various countries in the South, by Gerard Payen. We also listened to Jana Lednichka from Slovakia whose CEPAC centre supports the unemployed and has innovating ideas about how to enable them to create their own business.

1 Negative tendencies 

Within the business world:  we notice the increasing appearance of standardised procedures, of temporary and short time employment. Decisions regarding mergers, acquisitions, closures, and dismissals are accelerating. The financial pressures have become heavier and the question of profit is becoming more and more important. A company whose managers and staff have a project to welcome people in difficulties, or even with disadvantages, has to be able to show favorablee financial results. Thus will also need to be able to define a medium or long-term strategy for this project without at the same time being constantly pushed by the shareholders. We consider therefore that this is a necessary condition for a successful integration project within a company.

We think that the geographical distance of the centres of decision-making is a negative tendency as well. For in the registered offices, the management of the multi national companies make decisions, which are not always understood by those who have to put up with the consequences and have to do their jobs at a distance of many kilometres away.  

We have noted that the consequences of de-industrialisation is the decrease of employment for people who have no salary or only a minimum wage. Thus the number of jobs for people who live in difficult situations is being reduced as well. On the other hand, new jobs are appearing within the service sector; but when employment is available, more and more qualifications of a high level are required. What is more, the working conditions are more and more stressful and one notes less tolerance when it is necessary to accompany people who need more time to get acquainted with their new job. More and more employers demand that the employees become more mobile. When placed in front of this demand, people who need more time to get adapted to the situation, encounter many more difficulties when trying to get integrated into society. These people encounter more difficulties when they need to change jobs more frequently or when they try to become versatile.

Within the business world, mass unemployment, which seems to show up again, and, which we hope, is a matter of the current economic climate, also shows a negative trend. In fact, this development reduces the possibilities of jobs being offered to people living in poverty. These people are often the first ones to suffer dismissal. The competition between unemployed people is increasing and the ones who are more motivated or are better qualified will get the chance to obtain vacant jobs.

Social conditions like persistently bad housing or the shortage of social housing does not help to integrate people into the world of employment.

The growing individualism, which becomes more and more a characteristic of our societies, seems to be a negative tendency too.  The individual is not surrounded any more by a community, which could motivate him to take up work on the one hand and to try to integrate him into local life on the other hand. But we have noted that collective accompaniment plays an important role. Socialisation takes place more and more outside of working activities, a fact that does not facilitate the process of integration especially in the urban sector.
We have also taken note, that this question has not yet been discussed very often or that at least we didn’t yet know which strategy would be necessary to give an answer to this problematic development, which aggravates social exclusion.

II Positive tendencies

In the commercial sector much better personal management is appearing. Managers are more open today when matters of foresight are concerned. They admit that they have to anticipate the replacement of aging staff and to think about the training of agents related to the future perspectives of the sector. It is often a real challenge for the companies when it decides to engage itself in the accompaniment and the integration of disadvantaged people. The diversification of training courses explains this new development. The idea of working in a group on the principal of “toyotisme” is developing and promotes the setting up of integration projects on a small scale within companies. 

Companies are taking into consideration more and more human factors and the diversity of educational cultures. Such diversity is gradually becoming a supplementary trump for the performances of the companies and a help to assist innovations.

The strategic choices are now becoming more pragmatic than in the past, e.g. Ondeo has decided to confine sub-contracted work to local associations, which employ unemployed people.

This willingness to work together with local associations and communities has revealed itself as being very pertinent in terms of efficiency and of profitability. In supplying jobs thorough local intermediaries, Ondeo has allowed its clients to guaranty the payment of their water invoices.

Within the economic world, it may be surprising to quote globalisation and to mention positive tendencies. But, we may say that we have entered a new phase of globalisation. The idea that a regulated globalisation is necessary and possible is recognised more and more. So, certain subjects connected with quality of life and social rights as well as reflection on the Social Charter are on the agenda.

In a very provocative manner we have highlighted the existence of large scale unemployment.  Certainly it is first of all a problem, but on further reflection it has to be recognised that the rising unemployment in the current economic climate has in fact a positive effect. It makes us lose the illusion that all the problems can be resolved thanks to a high rate of economic growth. Growth cannot solve all the problems encountered by people in difficulties facing a lack of access to employment. The increase in unemployment draws attention to those who did not benefit from the improvement of the last few years and obliges companies to focus their attention on the poorest groups with programs better adapted to their needs. From this point of view we may consider that this is an unfinished workshop that will have to be taken up again over the coming months and years. However, the practice of fighting against unemployment has develop over last ten years and individual support given to unemployed workers has expanded. This [support] should however be expanded further in the future to allow many more people to integrate themselves.

Companies carry out their actions in a less isolated manner; they are taking part in various networks and compare their performances, the social side included. On the national or local level or in various sectors, charters are elaborated and they are applied. We have become more sensible to the benefit of what we can be derived from sharing experience.

III  Actors

We believed that it would be easy to answer the question by only quoting companies. In fact, we found many actors around and within them. We could list in particular company managers, their staff, work councils, the unions, enterprise association, temporary employment agencies, young managers, training institutions, communities and public authorities, media, international organisations (OMC, BIT, etc.) and the European Union. 

Communities and public authorities seem to be the major actors as far as the fight against exclusion is concerned.  The process of integration and local anchorage are decisive not only in order to define a strategy of employment integration but also for a larger strategy of negotiation between companies and those who assist the most disadvantaged people, sometimes outside of their working place.

Concerning the company staff , the testimonies [we have heard] have insisted a lot on the fact that they should be prepared to welcome people who are less productive. Special training is becoming necessary for the accompaniment of the person at their place of employment as well as for the follow up outside of the workplace.

IV Some directions and recommendations

It seems clear to us that the negative tendencies should be checked and the positive ones should be promoted. In a more operational manner, two options are possible: to change or try to normalise the regulations, or to act on the margins. One may choose one or both, but probably they will have to run into conjunction. We note that often we are acting on the margins, because we cannot confront the obstacles directly. In our work shop we agreed to say that acting on the margins set a good example: it shows that this methods is possible and it is essential to into practise.

The directions we have considered are the following: to ensure employment and to give to people concerned perspectives on change over the middle term; to accompany and to help them to get integrated into a company; but also to help them when they are leaving. When there is dismissal, we have to prevent people getting into a downward spiral. It’s very important that the accompaniment of people leaving employment is reflected upon. 

We think that it is imperative to give a concrete content to the charters: i.e. a better definition from the point of view of the actors and their responsibilities, to precisely evaluate the results of the programs undertaken. It’s necessary to clarify the right to work contained in the charter. 

Regarding training, efforts must be continued for people who are trying to get re integrated into the world of employment. We insist particularly on the importance of training people who welcome in their companies people who have difficulties in adapting.

It is also important to see that the project is deeply rooted at the local level or at the pace of a company. It must be understood that the time defined by the company and the one, which is necessary for the person who is integrating, are very different. The company has to accept that it has to slow down its rhythm during the period of adaptation. Intermediaries will certainly be necessary in order to carry out this re-connection.