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Coronavirus: free voluntary work, the anger of the seamstresses called to produce masks

2020-05-02T06:59:26.524Z


Hired from all sides, hundreds of seamstresses denounce the gracious work they have been doing for weeks in favor of


Everything started from a good intention. A desire to help voluntarily by providing a mask to the neighbor, then another to the neighborhood nurse. But, over the weeks, requests have become more and more numerous and pressing. The question then arose: "Why should we continue to work for free?" Asks Christie, 48, costume designer in Paris.

Like her, hundreds of professional dressmakers and costume designers have been asked by communities, hospitals or companies to make masks for free. Across France, dozens of town halls have even called for collective - and therefore voluntary - efforts to participate in the production of these means of protection. "Solidarity is not free," sums up the costume designer on the phone, unemployed since the start of confinement.

"Over 700 masks in a month and a half"

Christie used to work on film sets or for the theater. Since confinement, his activity has completely ceased. The costume designer, who now lives on social minima, first wanted to "render service in the face of the emergency and while waiting for state stocks to arrive". "But we could always wait ..." she quips.

The costume designer contacted her colleagues, gathered fabrics, threads and elastic bands, before spending several hours each day in front of her machine. "In all, I think I have made more than 700 masks in a month and a half," says this Parisian who still suffers from "back and neck pain".

The shortage of protective equipment in hospitals has increased. So the orders were no longer just for masks, but also for gowns. “Some caregivers had trash bags to protect themselves. We were obviously not going to refuse to help them… ”, tells Jackie, an independent dressmaker in Paris, by telephone.

"Even in wartime, we always paid the workers"

As the days go by, anger is mounting on social media. The testimonies of these intermittent workers or employees exhausted by orders are increasing. Wanting to make their voices heard, Jackie and Christie founded the collective "Bas les masques", which today brings together more than 700 professionals, the vast majority of whom are women.

They also challenged the government, launching a petition which has collected more than 5,000 signatures to date. "The movement has gone far beyond the normal framework of volunteering and has come to compete with or even replace an existing industry which should be supported rather by the government," said the collective.

“By force, several of us even broke our machines, with the rates that were imposed on us. A machine represents at least 700 euros, ”laments Christie. "I want to hear that we are at war. But in this case, we are paid. Because even in wartime, we always paid the workers, ”she adds.

"Extremely hard machining work"

To fight against this "devaluation" of their work, the collective calls on the State to requisition "theaters, operas and factories of large textile manufacturing groups" to "hire intermittent workers" and manufacture the necessary protective equipment. A request that has not yet been heard by the government.

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In the meantime, some, like Jackie, have already stopped responding to orders. “We must stop with the image of the housewife who would take pleasure in helping the country, without being paid. We are asked to work extremely hard physically and morally, ”insists the seamstress.

This devaluation of the work done by women is nothing new. Last month, around thirty researchers and union representatives had called, in a forum in the World, to "raise the wages of feminized jobs", like those of nursing assistant, nurse, cashier, or even maintenance worker. Jobs whose need became all the more glaring in this period of health crisis.

The “invisibilisation” of women's work

"Historically, so-called female work has tended to be invisible or devalued, because it is not considered as a skill in its own right," says labor sociologist Marie Buscatto. “This work, especially if it is linked to the field of 'care', is rather perceived as an extension of the supposedly natural qualities that women would have. This is why some people are still astonished at the fact that babysitting is a job in its own right. ”

In the present case, if the sewing of the masks had been a work traditionally carried out by men, the question of their remuneration would undoubtedly have "been more easily considered", analyzes the researcher. "Because remember, when farmers lacked the arms to pick their fruits and vegetables, the question of wages was immediately raised," said the sociologist.

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2020-05-02

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