child welfare employees on strike to demand more resources

Around thirty members of the staff of the Aucamville Solidarity House (Haute-Garonne) are on strike this Tuesday, November 5, 2024. They denounce a lack of resources and consideration of the department regarding working conditions in social assistance to childhood.

Around thirty people were on strike this Tuesday morning in front of the Aucamville solidarity center (Haute-Garonne). A strike to highlight concerns and difficulties that persist within child welfare. “Our working conditions are so degraded, we could no longer stand by and do nothing, we tried to raise the alarm several times but nothing helped” explains Estelle Fundaro, child welfare representative (ASE).

Among their demands, more financial resources, but also human resources. “We need more staff, we are currently understaffed. We would need to recruit an additional child welfare representative, but also a psychologist and a social and family intervention technician.”

Because for Estelle Fundaro, the lack of staff is glaring within the structure. “We have 210 children, for these 210 children, there are only two psychologists. It’s not possible, we can’t hold on.” Same fight on the side of the ASE referents, “there are eight ASE referents in the house, but we all have 25 children, so it's already complicated to follow and take care of everyone“.

If the Solidarity House includes 210 children at the heart of its structure, 25 children would still be “on hold” according to Estelle Fundaro. “We don't have enough staff to take care of them. So there are 25 children waiting. But we, as referents, are already overloaded, we can't take care of them.” For the referent, the monitoring of children in the solidarity center cannot be carried out correctly without real change.

“There will be and have already been tragedies due to these working conditions. There, for example, we are overwhelmed and did not have information about a placement request, so the child cannot be found today. A situation like this is terrible but if we don't increase the workforce it risks making things worse. We therefore hope to be able to be heard, we want to challenge elected officials to react to the situation.”

According to Estelle Fundaro, several elected officials including Jean-Michel Fabre, vice-president in charge of local social action and Annie Vieu, vice-president in charge of child protection, would have gone there. According to the employee, no change announced. “We are very disappointed, we were told that no one would be recruited and that the workforce would not change. The cause, according to elected officials, is the budget cuts which are too significant to be able to provide resources”. In response, the ASE team, from the Aucamville Solidarity House, decided to distribute a petition. Tomorrow, Wednesday November 6, the strike should be renewed.

According to the Departmental Council, the budgetary situation is “unprecedented, given the measures announced as part of the 2025 Finance Law. Over the last two years, the Departmental Council has lost 253 million euros in revenue, with the collapse of the real estate market, while most of the expenditure of the community are on the rise.” Sébastien Vincini, president of the Departmental Council and the departmental elected officials would have thus questioned the State on the situation of the Department. “Departmental elected officials remain determined to make their voices heard at the national level so that concrete solutions are established, in order to regain financial viability which will ensure the essential missions of the Departmental Council, of which social action remains the DNA.”