Disneyland Paris ends the contracts of its intermittent workers

Disneyland Paris told AFP on Saturday that it was ending the contracts of intermittent workers recruited in early 2020 for its shows, while the Marne-la-Vallée amusement park has been closed to the public since March 16 due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

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Questioned by AFP following an article in Le Monde accusing her of wanting to "get rid at a low cost of the hundreds of intermittent workers she had recruited in early 2020 for the four shows that were to be offered to visitors until June " , the group explained that " there is currently no visibility on the resumption [of] activities and the performance conditions are also uncertain " . "Under these conditions, intermittent contracts are broken," said the group, which paid its intermittent workers until March 31.

A total of 350 artists and technicians are involved. Some have accepted an amicable breach of contract, but for most of the others, the contracts are broken on the grounds of force majeure, AFP learned.

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According to Le Monde , the Disneyland Paris human resources department had first considered short-time working for intermittent workers, before offering them an amicable breach of their contract - " an early termination" , on April 1, due "exceptional circumstances" . But the majority of them refused, according to the newspaper. "The contract being interrupted, intermittent workers will receive their holiday indemnity and will be able to claim coverage by the national and specific unemployment insurance scheme, " Disneyland Paris told AFP.

For intermittents of the show, periods of non-activity related to confinement will not be counted in the calculation of their rights, so that they are not injured, announced the government in mid-March. "Intermittent workers arriving soon at the end of their unemployment benefit period will continue to be compensated," according to Disneyland Paris. Without a contract, however, there is a risk that some people will not validate enough hours to be able to maintain their intermittent status, whereas 507 hours in the year are necessary.

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The group ensures that intermittent workers whose contract has been broken "can continue to stay in their accommodation at Disneyland Paris until they can organize, find new accommodation or join their families" , and that bears the cost. “Intermittents are talents of Disneyland Paris with whom we have been collaborating for many years. We will continue to use intermittent workers in the future as soon as the situation allows, " insists the group, of which 15,000 out of 17,000 employees are partially unemployed.