Evaluation of a Training Program Set-Up by a Relocation Committee

This paper is a case study of an experience where a tripartite action was effectively applied to solve the problem of displaced workers. It is an evaluation of a training program set up by a relocation committee formed in October 1969, after the shutdown of a slaughter house, Legrade Inc., in Québec city.

THE LEGRADE EXPERIENCE

The following characteristics are those of the 117 bluecollar workers employed by Legrade and included in the work of the committee set up at the time of the shutdown.

The typical Legrade worker was a 45 year old male with about 7 years of education. In addition almost half of them had property ownership and three children or more. Employment wise, he was an unilingual French speaking skilled person who had worked for Legrade for more than twenty years. In addition, this worker did not want to move outside the Québec city region, had almost never been unemployed and was receiving a very reasonnable pay. On the whole, the economic and financial situation of the workers at the time of the shutdown was such that they could easily keep the same standard of living they had known previously for at least one year, because of the importance of their severance pay, pension plan and unemployment benefits.

THE RELOCATION COMMITTEE

According to article 45 of bill 49 of the Province of Québec, an agreement was signed on October 10, 1969 between the Canada Department of Manpower, the Québec Department of Labor and Manpower the company and the union to form a relocation committee. An inventory of the workers' characteristics was completed and attention was mainly directed towards training and placement in new jobs. Therefore the foregoing evaluation will look exclusively at the results of training in terms of placement. Among the 117 blue-collar workers laid off, only 17 undertook butcher training courses (390 hours per enrollee).

THE RESULTS OF THE WORK

In the Legrade experience, the youngest, best educated, most skilled workers with more children found jobs first. In addition, they were less paid while at Legrade and had less available income from their severance pay and pension plan. They referred to their new jobs as being less desirable than the previous one and admitted their lack of interest in retraining. Moreover, the role of the public employment agencies, the Canada Manpower Centres and the Québec Manpower Centres, was minimal placement wise.

A FOLLOW-UP OF THE SITUATION

I have completed a follow-up at the end of March 1971 i.e. 8 months after the end of the work of the committee. Questions were then asked by telephone on the employment status, the industrial sector, the occupation, the hours of work, the wage rate and the number of jobs held in between the employment status at that date and the shutdown - 78.6% of the population was reached.

On the overall, the follow-up revealed a worsening of the situation of the former Legrade workers on many respects. Their wage rate had decreased on the average, the job turnover was relatively high for many and long term unemployment was striking a good proportion of the former Legrade workers.

AN EVALUATION OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM

The trainess group (17) is studied in comparison to the non-trainees (100) considered here as the control group. It is to be noted that there was no drop-out and no reject from this program.

Some differences can be identified between these two groups. On the whole, trainees were 2.2 years older than non-trainees, more educated and their group contained a much greater proportion of skilled workers than the other group. So, on the whole the trainees would have had slight advantages over the non-trainees for placement before the training program started. This is why it is assumed here that, labor market wise, the trainees group would have hadat least the same working conditions as the non-trainees had they not entered the training program.

At the time of the follow-up there were no significant differences in the employment status between both groups. Moreover the trainees were concentrated in the commerce sector, had more skilled workers in their group, a job turnover rate about the same as the control group and a smaller wage rate than the non-trainees for an identical workweek.

So, on the whole, at the time of the follow-up, there were no significant differences between both groups. A lack of experience in this field and a much too long training course seem to be the explanation for this bad choice made by the decision-makers.

CONCLUSION

In no apparent way was the training program for Legrade workers successful as measured by this limited approach. If it is realized that the Legrade experience is not an exception, then a serious examination of the Québec reclassification policy should be undertaken. If such is the context, it is proposed that a single permanent institutionalized agency be responsible for the elaboration and application of newly defined relocation policies such as a compulsory insurance fund financed by both employers and workers in each industrial sector. However some prerequisites need to be met : an evaluation of all relocation committees that have existed in this province up to now : the establishment of a more complete and disaggregated labor market and manpower information system ; a serious quantitative and qualitative examination of the present manpower for manpower programs and the implementation of more serious legal sanctions for those who do not follow bill 49.