Groups representing welfare recipients say they're angry and surprised over upcoming welfare cuts.

Rallies took place Monday and over the weekend as the provincial government quietly announced changes to Quebec's welfare rules Friday that will come into effect June 1, affecting the close to 460,000 Quebecers on welfare.

As of that date, people aged 55 to 58 will see a $129 reduction in payments. Currently, people who are aged 55 receive an extra payment because employers are less likely to hire them. On June 1 the eligibility age for that bonus will be raised to 58.

Other proposed changes include parents on welfare with children under the age of five. They will no longer receive the special allowance program, save for a few exceptions, including parents of children suffering from a disability, or if they are taking care of another ailing family member.

Protesters rallied this weekend and Monday outside the Quebec City offices of Agnes Maltais, the provincial Minister for Labour and Social Assistance, to show their disapproval.

“If I am cutting $130 a month from your budget, how are you going to pay your rent?” said case worker Steven Ouellet.

Jean Lalande of the Welfare Rights' Committee of the Southwest Borough said the news was sudden -- and never even hinted at by the Parti Quebecois.

"To see them come up with a measure that targets people among the poorest in society that are the least able to afford a cut to their budget, that's really a shame," said Lalande.

Protesters rallied this weekend and Monday outside the Quebec City offices of Agnes Maltais, the provincial minister for Labour and Social Assistance.

Amelie Chateauneuf, head of Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec, an advocacy group for people on social assistance, calls the cuts unfair.

“People are already starving, are already in the street. We are asking for a rise,” she said.

The government insists these measured aren't cost cutting.

“We have 1.4 million jobs that will be available in the next ten years. We need to encourage and reinforce everyone to be part of labour force,” said Marie-Renee Roy, assistant deputy minister for Labour and Social Assistance.

Advocacy groups are planning a protest against the changes on March 13 outside the Labour and Social Assistance offices in Montreal.