Organizations Supporting the Socio-professional (Re)Integration of Homeless People: New Industrial Relations Players in Quebec ?
This article focuses on civil society organizations (CSOs) specializing in supporting the socio-professional (re)integration of homeless people and the emergence of new actors in the Quebec industrial relations system. Based on a case study conducted in the Ville-Marie district of Montreal, we used the dimensions developed by Bellemare (2000) to operationalize the concept of the actor, the work of Heery et al. (2012) on British CSOs, and the results of our own research in this Montreal district to determine whether CSOs involved in the socio-professional (re)integration of homeless people can be considered as new actors in industrial relations (IR). From the analysis, we are able to deduce that CSOs that are engaged in the socio-professional (re)integration of homeless people can be considered as new actors in IR. Indeed, in terms of involvement at various levels of IR analysis, whilst CSOs are seen to intervene on an ad hoc basis at the workplace level, they are involved in a more continuous way at the organizational and institutional levels. At the organizational level, CSOs are linked to companies through a network where the CSO acts as an intermediary that facilitates the deployment of employability programs. This represents a network mode of operation where many inter-organizational exchanges can be found that ensure a continuum of services aiming to support individuals in their return-to-work journey and facilitate the transition of homeless people into companies. With respect to the degree of continuity of CSO involvement in the IR system, our results differ from those of Heery et al. (2012). Indeed, we have observed a sustained involvement in employability and pre-employability programs, whereas these authors speak of a sporadic or discontinuous involvement. Our results also show changes in the rules relating to working conditions and company organization through the sharing of some HRM practices, which we consider to represent an influence of CSOs at the organizational level. Furthermore, CSOs indirectly influence the social environment of business through the concerted action between CSOs and companies that aims to provide a solution to the problem of homelessness in the downtown Montreal area.