Employing those who have been unemployed for a long time : the case studies of Pipriac and St-Ganton

A project developed by the ATD Quart Monde association began in a rural area of Brittany where there was a large proportion of long-term unemployed people, and local needs were not being taken into account. Despite these difficult circumstances, there was a strong consensus centred on one simple idea, namely that every person has the right to work. The project, supported by local MPs, entrepreneurs, social workers and volunteers, was designed to eradicate long-term unemployment in this area of Brittany. It consisted of creating a company financed by both the funds allocated to the long-term unemployed (in the form of unemployment benefit and a minimum wage), and all the other costs and shortfalls associated with unemployment. This company had to agree to guarantee its future employees permanent work contracts, and to provide them with an activity judged ‘useful’ to the local community, regardless of the skills of its employees. This initial experience, tested in the towns of Pipriac and Saint-Ganton in Brittany, has since been the basis of a law which allows the methods used to be validated. Initial results are optimistic, and show that this scheme is sustainable and can be applied to other geographical areas.