Chambermaids, team members, supervisors… About fifty employees of the service provider Atalian Sogepark went on strike to demand an improvement in their working conditions.
And also the departure of their general housekeeper to another establishment.
They have been demonstrating for a week in front of the doors of the Newport Bay Club hotel in Disneyland Paris, which continues to receive its customers as if nothing had happened.
On October 1, 2020, Atalian Sogepark took over the maintenance and cleaning contract for the largest hotel in the Marne-la-Vallée tourist complex with its 1,097 rooms, taking over the 120 employees of the previous provider.
"We don't even have time to take a break"
“We have to clean 31 rooms in six hours starting at 9:15 am.
It is impossible to finish on time and we frequently work unpaid overtime until 7 p.m. for a pittance of between 1,000 and 1,100 euros.
We don't even have time to take a break.
We are not asking for illegal things but for decent and dignified work, ”denounces Marie (all the names of the employees have been changed), a maid for years at the Newport Bay Club hotel.
"These are conditions unworthy of a Disney hotel," adds Madi, a teammate for many years at the Newport Bay Club.
Read alsoDisneyland Paris walkout: social unrest or union quarrel?
“We are asking for additional staff but also a reorganization of work so that supervisors no longer have to manage their 50 rooms on two or three different floors.
We are also calling for a more egalitarian distribution of tasks and for an end to favoritism by communities, ”explains Natacha, a supervisor.
Claims partly raised during unsuccessful negotiations with management last Friday.
“Since last week, we have been actively negotiating together to find the right solutions to this complex conflict.
A continuity plan has been put in place in full compliance with the rules of labor law, ”comments soberly the management of the Atalian-Sogepark group.
Negotiations would stuck on the request for the departure of a manager
However, according to two documents, which we were able to obtain, the management would have taken a step towards the strikers demonstrators by accepting several of their demands, in particular the passage of 13 CDD in CDI, the passage of the first eight chambermaids, the adjustment of working conditions for senior employees or the recruitment of two additional team members.
The sticking point of the negotiations remains the departure of the general housekeeper who has worked at the hotel for more than twenty-five years and whom the demonstrators want to see leave her post.
"Even if they accepted part of our requests, as long as this person, who has been there for years, does not leave, there will be a blockage", confirms Marie.
But this official would have received the support of 75% of employees who signed a petition in her favor, according to the CFDT in particular.
This statistic is intriguing since the strikers represent 40% of the subcontractor's workforce.
"We support the social demands of the strikers but we cannot support the demand for the dismissal of an employee", assures Mamadou Sacko, secretary of the CFDT Ile de la Propreté union.
🗣 "At @DisneylandParis the wonderful world it visibly looks like a world without a work contract, underpaid and despised"
In their world, the only thing that trickles is poverty!
It's time to share the riches! # MacronPresidentDesRiches # Transdev #Bergams pic.twitter.com/ov8aAtch1A
- Julie Garnier 🐝 (@JulieGarnierFI) October 15, 2021
On the spot, the tension rose a notch on Monday, the regional councilor Julie Garnier (LFI), who had already supported the strikers last week, chained to the gates to denounce the refusal of the security of Disneyland Paris to let in CGT union representatives elected on site.
The strikers, who have received the support of the CGT of Disneyland Paris, intend to renew their movement on Tuesday.