The government of Javier Milei ended the program Enhance Work through which a person received half of the Minimum Living and Mobile Wage in exchange for a labor compensation of four hours a day or educational completion.

Through the Ministry of Human Capital led by Sandra Pettovello, the Government dissolved the Empower Work to make way for two new programs: «Back to work» and the “Social Accompaniment”. This is a new stage in which – according to what the Government says – an attempt will be made to reduce the power of interference of the management units that in many cases are managed by social organizations and to avoid intermediation between the beneficiaries and the leaders.

Until now, the Management Units were responsible for certifying the participation of beneficiaries in the program and verifying compliance with the mandatory consideration. In addition, they received financing to carry out courses or socio-community and work activities. According to Milei’s management, in 2023 alone they received about 34 million dollars.

The new stage of social programs proposed by Capital Humano will try to reinforce the training of beneficiaries. Although the job offer of social and popular economy activities will be sustained, the beneficiaries will seek to turn towards training to try to enter the formal labor market, which, they say, did not happen during the Government of Alberto Fernández: Of a total of 1.4 million participants, only 1.3% managed to “transition towards formal employment”indicates documentation to which he accessed TN.

“Return to Work” and “Social Accompaniment”, the two new programs that replace “Empower Work”

The almost 1.3 million beneficiaries of Empower Work will be referred to the two large programs. In this sense, it is expected that some 975 thousand people move to be under the orbit of the program called «Back to work»which will focus on those beneficiaries who are between 18 and 49 years old.

This program will seek to ensure that the beneficiaries increase their job training to try to obtain tools that allow you to move to formal employment and will depend on the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

The “Back to Work” program will provide the following tools for its beneficiaries:

• Guidance and Assistance in the Job Search: provision of services to guide beneficiaries in the job search process.
• Job intermediation: connection between participants and potential employers to facilitate access to job opportunities.
• Job training: courses and vocational training aimed at improving the work skills and competencies of participants
• Certification of Labor Skills: official evaluation and certification of job skills based on previous experience.
• Training Practices in Work Environments: Practical experience in real work environments to apply and hone professional skills.
• Promotion of Labor Insertion: actions focused on facilitating entry into registered salaried work and independent and self-managed work.
• Strengthening of Productive Units: support for individual, associative or family productive initiatives for their development and sustainability.
• Educational Termination: programs aimed at completing formal education and developing basic skills essential for the labor market.

“Return to Work” will allow you to have a formal parallel job of up to $540 thousand

One of the core features of this new stage is that the “Back to Work” program will allow the beneficiaries to make the assistance received compatible with income of up to three Minimum Living and Mobile Wages, that is, if a beneficiary of the “Back to Work” obtains a formal job with a salary of up to $540,000 will maintain the State benefit for two years. Currently, the Empower Work limited this compatibility to a single Living and Mobile Minimum Wage, which the Government believes discouraged the search for formal work.

Read also: How to know if I collect the Enhance Work in March

The other great program: “Social Accompaniment”

Those beneficiaries of Empower Work who until today presented a situation of extreme social vulnerability will become part of the “Social Accompaniment” program, which will be aimed at over 50 years; the mothers of more than four children and older adults facing challenges related to health, loneliness and financial security. It will be under the orbit of the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Family of the Ministry of Human Capital.

The actions that this program will contemplate are the following:

Family Strengthening

• Organization of workshops and dialogues on education, health, nutrition, and human rights that strengthen the social and community fabric.
• Identification and exploitation of economic opportunities to increase household income.
• Facilitation of access to resources available at the local and national level.

Improvement of the Family Productive Unit

• Technical assistance and training to promote socio-productive ventures.
• Financial and technical support for projects that promote the solidarity economy.

Preparation for Retirement

• Advice for the retirement process.
• Offering tools and information to facilitate the transition to retirement.

Food safety

• Implementation of economic or material benefits to ensure adequate nutrition.
• Establishment of transparent and objective resource transfer systems to improve nutrition.

The “Social Accompaniment” program will last two years but may be extended depending on its success and effectiveness. Families that are part of this initiative must commit to carrying out health and education checks.

Those who are currently in the Empower Work program will not have to re-register, since the system itself will refer them to “Return to Work” or “Social Accompaniment.”

The Government will seek to take power from the “Management Units” to weaken social organizations

The Management Units o Certification They are responsible for certifying your participation in the program and verifying compliance with the mandatory consideration. These can be governmental, that is, municipalities and provinces, or non-governmental, either Social OrganizationsCivil Associations, Federations, Cooperatives, etc., among others.

Read also: Strengthen Work: almost 3,000 luxury trips and absences for more than 30 days, the reasons for sick leave

For the Government, management units made up of members of social organizations only They served to have greater control over the beneficiariesput pressure on them to go to the marches or even on political leaders to force beneficiaries to give them a part of what they receive from Empower Work.

Given this situation, the new programs will implement mechanisms that reduce the possibility of control and discretionary management of resources by these units. According to Government estimates, only in 2023 will these management units receive 34 million dollars for courses and other activities that in Human Capital maintain were not effective in generating employment.

The attendance sheet system allowed these units to exercise control over who received payments and those who did not, which for the current authorities facilitated intermediation.

That is why in the two new programs it was established that attendance sheets will be eliminated to avoid the mandatory nature of presence for the new Management Units. This will try to reduce the influence and control of the plan holders.

The sources consulted clarified that if a beneficiary who is in the social support program wants to go back to work, he can do so.