Over the past three years, the number of workers aged 65 and over has jumped by 12%, from 173,100 in 2019 to 194,100 last month, to the delight of employers, who are snapping up this labor force. in-store experience.
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Even though their employment rate in May 2022 was 11.2%, similar to 2019 (11.1%), they are increasingly visible in stores, has seen The newspaper.
“As long as my health is good, it is sure that I will not sit on a chair. Sitting on a chair, you tend to think, sometimes you think too much for nothing,” says Robert Desjardins, a 78-year-old grandfather, clerk at RONA Boucherville.
“When I come home in the morning and put on my uniform and my pinI’m happy,” shares Michèle Gagné, 68, cashier at the Jean Coutu laboratory in the Loretteville borough, in Quebec.
Today, there are many like them, even if Quebec is lagging behind compared to the rest of the country with an activity rate 5% lower, of 51%, among 60 to 64 year olds, notes Simon Savard, who is the principal economist of the Institut du Québec.
“Women, in general, retire earlier in Quebec and we have more employees in the public sector,” he observes.
Maintain your standard of living
According to him, with historically low unemployment and the panoply of positions to be filled, the opportunities will continue to rain down for these workers.
“There are many who want to stay active, but differently than in a previous life because the interest in working is no longer the same,” he says.
“In many cases, they return to the labor market to maintain a standard of living,” underlines Gisèle Tassé-Goodman, president of the Réseau FADOQ, who recalls that many are struggling to make ends meet.
Barely 41% of Quebecers have an employer pension plan, she says.
Au Journalthe Minister of Labour, Jean Boulet, pleads for them to be retained.
“They have valuable know-how and experience for companies. Among the groups less represented on the labor market, they are the most numerous”, he analyzes.
“Their return and job retention are important solutions for combating the labor shortage,” he says.
For Joëlle Noreau, senior economist at Desjardins, we must remember the 1990s to better understand early retirement.
“A popular expression, ‘Liberté 55’, presented as legitimate the ambition to free oneself from work at the age of 55,” she recalls.
“Toy store”
In supermarkets and pharmacies, these workers are sought after.
At Jean Coutu, a “Welcome to retirees” sign welcomes customers.
At RONA, they make up 10% of the workforce, and are highly appreciated if we are to believe Marc Larouche, interim national director of talent acquisition.
“We have a lot of seniors who come from the construction industry, who like to talk about construction and do a little tinkering. For them, it’s like a toy store,” he says. For him, these employees are “golden bars”.
Photo Francis Halin
Marc Larouche, Acting National Director of Talent Acquisition at RONA.
For Robert Desjardins, who is approaching his 80th birthday, working is a way of life. After the hardware store Pascal went bankrupt, he went back to school at 47 to be a plumber, but when he retired, he twiddled his thumbs.
“The first year of my retirement, I did nothing. I said to myself, that’s all well and good, but I always went to the stores,” he says.
“You have to move. If you don’t move, it’s not good”, philosophizes the man who uses the money earned for his small expenses at the restaurant and at the chalet.
“Everyone’s Granny”
Courtesy picture
At the Jean Coutu in Loretteville, Michèle Gagné (68) is proud to be able to give her advice to the youngest employees.
236 kilometers away, at Jean Coutu in Loretteville, Quebec, Michèle Gagné says she “fell into the Obélix potion” at her pharmacy where she used to go to pick up her medication.
After thirty years in the banking industry, and the hard fight of a disease that dragged on, she joined the local Jean Coutu team.
“I’m everyone’s granny,” drops the one who couldn’t do without the team spirit that reigns behind the counter.
“I took a lot of notes. I made a guide of about forty procedures to follow, in my spare time, ”she shares.
Today, his patiently written notes are a reference. “I did it in the evening for fun,” she says.
▶In Quebec, a tax credit for SMEs promoting the retention of experienced workers can reach 75% of contributions for workers aged 65 or over, up to $1,875 per worker.