Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, employees, employers and elected officials have been banding together in the La Mitis RCM to confront the situation. Though the latter have all been teleworking since March 13, the services offered to citizens and partners have been maintained. Staff has been specifically reassigned to coordinating and relaying various decisions made to fight the virus.

There have been no temporary layoffs, which has been welcomed by the union. “I would like to congratulate the employer for being proactive in dealing with the current situation, and I thank them for their cooperation with the union. Together, we will get through this crisis, which is affecting all of us,” indicated Michel Lagacé, President of the Syndicat des employés de la MRC de La Mitis.

Union representative Yanick Proulx of the CUPE-FTQ, which the union is affiliated with, believes that the La Mitis RCM, like other employers in the region, is making good decisions. “We must think long term and assign available resources to help the community in every possible way. Unlike other organizations, municipal bodies will not see their income drop sharply. They must take advantage of this to keep their staff and deploy them in this struggle. The use of taxes seems, to me, to be the most responsible course of action, and that is what the vast majority of organizations we are working with are currently doing.”