“They should be made compulsory if we are to believe the Walloon Minister-President (Editor’s note: MR Adrien Dolimont), whereas for the president of the Engagés (Editor’s note: Maxime Prévot), it’s out of the question” she read in the press this summer.
She also read the Regional Policy Statement.”What does she say about this? ‘People furthest from employment will be able to benefit from specific and multidisciplinary support. And we will be able to invite them, if necessary, to get back on their feet by contributing in other ways to the vitality of society.‘”.
Are community service assignments part of the package?vitality of society” ? This is the question asked by Eliane Tillieux in the Employment Committee of the Walloon Parliament.
“This is not a punishment”
The Walloon Minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet was already able to give an overview of his vision in terms of supporting job seekers.The 240,000 Walloon job seekers (Editor’s note: half of whom receive unemployment benefits) are not in the same situation”he repeated in the Walloon Parliament committee.
He insists on the “custom made“, the good training operator, emancipation through work, the journey”mobilizer“which must be put in place for those who are furthest from the job market, etc.
He comes to community service and says he is aware of the negative connotation associated with it.It’s because we give the impression of talking about justice sanctions. We must forget this concept when we talk about the vitality of society, when we talk about work for the community. It must be seen in a positive way. It’s not a bad word, it’s not insulting. These people need to regain confidence, to be supported by an association, a public authority. But it must not be interpreted as a punishment..”
But this file, like others, is still in draft form.The reform is being prepared, I can’t specify it yet. But yes, I want to move in that direction tomorrow.“, confirms the minister.
Guilt
quotation markThis raises the question of the value of work, of unfair competition, of the protection of workers.
The socialist MP takes note: the minister sees this as a positive approach to improving support for job seekers.On the other hand, I’m not sure that everyone will take it the same way. Because it raises a lot of questions.“, she reacted in committee.
” First, we will have to find ways to get these people back to work, the vast majority of whom want to be useful to society. But we must avoid the logic of blaming“, continues Eliane Tillieux. Because, she thinks, if there is one element that induces this negative connotation associated with compulsory community service, it is this: “Blaming the person.”
Another question also arises from this track, according to the socialist deputy: “Competition between those who perform activities for free and those who would be paid to perform the same task. This raises the question of the value of work, unfair competition, and worker protection. The biggest question being, above all, that of supervision, it seems to me.“
Let us recall that, if the restrictive aspect of future community service is not (yet?) unanimous in the two majority parties, the MR and Les Engagés are on the other hand in complete agreement in supporting the limitation of unemployment benefits to two years.
What will become of the 17 Walloon projects “Zero Long-Term Unemployment Territories”?
During the previous legislature, the Walloon government was inspired by the French experience of “Territories with zero long-term unemployment” and selected 17 projects for Wallonia, with a budget of 104 million until 2026, half of which was financed by the European Social Fund (ESF+).
MPs Bénédicte Linard (Écolo) and Nicolas Tzanetatos (MR) ask the MR Minister of Employment Pierre-Yves Jeholet the question: stop or continue?
“These projects, based on a voluntary approach, constitute an innovative pilot experience for job seekers who are difficult to integrate.“, underlines Bénédicte Linard.
Like all the projects of the Recovery Plan, the “Territories” are subject to the evaluation of Iweps (the Walloon Institute for Prospective and Statistics), replies the minister. But we can already clearly hear his doubts: “104 million to create 735 jobs between 2024 and 2026, that’s €140,000 per person included. I admit that it’s beyond my understanding. It’s also an additional layer among the operators. What counts is action, support for the long-term unemployed.“
He adds that 9 projects out of the 17 selected in April 2023 are in progress, the others in the start-up phase.Around sixty jobs have been created. We are far from 735 for 2026…“
